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V.  R.  I. 

QUEEN    VICTORIA 
HER    LIFE    AND    EMPIRE 


BY 


THE   MARQUIS   OF   LORNE 

(now  his  grace  the  duke  of  Argyll) 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW   YORK   AND    LONDON 
HARPER    &-    BROTHERS    PUBLISHERS 

1901 


^1 


Copyright,  1901,  by  Harmsworth  Brothers,  Limited. 

All  rights  rtserved. 
November,  igoi. 


PREFACE 

A  PREFACE  is  an  old-fashioned  thing,  we  are  told, 
and  yet  modern  publishers  repeat  the  demand  made 
by  their  brethren  of  Queen  Victoria's  early  days,  and 
declare  that  one  is  wanted.  If  this  be  so,  I  am  glad 
to  take  the  opportunity  thus  given  to  me  to  thank 
the  publishers  for  the  quickness  and  completeness 
with  which  the  matter  printed  in  the  following  pages 
was  issued.  Nowadays  there  are  so  many  able  writers 
in  the  field  of  literary  activity  writing  volumes,  or  ar- 
ticles in  the  newspapers  or  magazines,  that  very  rapid 
work  is  necessary  if  a  man  desires  to  impress  readers 
with  his  views  of  a  character  or  of  an  event,  before 
the  public  have  listened  to  others.  The  long  waiting, 
pondering,  collating,  and  weighing,  fit  for  the  final 
labor  of  the  historian,  is  impossible  to  him  who  rapidly 
sketches  in  his  subject  for  the  eyes  of  the  genera- 
tion which  desires  an  immediate  survey  of  the  imme- 
diate past.  We  may  deplore  the  fact  that  great  themes 
cannot  thus  be  worthily  treated.  The  facts  that  are 
already  public  are  alone  those  that  may  be  dwelt  upon. 
But  these  may  be  so  grouped  and  illustrated  that  a  first 
view  of  the  history,  in  which  the  reader  may  himself 
have  borne  a  part,  can  be  presented  to  the  eye.  A  just 
proportion  also  may  be  given  to  the  various  matters 
which  have  made  history  during  the  sixty  or  seventy 
years  beyond  which  no  man's  memory  may  pass. 

iii 


r^7'A^.^R 


^ 


PREFACE 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  this  necessity  for  speed  and 
comparative  haste  makes  it  also  necessary  to  be  very 
brief.  For  in  a  long  reign  there  is  so  much  of  impor- 
tance that  may  and  should  be  told  that  the  narrow 
limits  of  one  volume,  presenting  pictorial  as  well  as 
written  description  of  our  times,  cannot  suffice.  I  had 
collected  many  interesting  letters  from  men  of  mark 
telling  of  the  great  events  of  the  hour,  and  had  in- 
tended in  this  volume  to  give  those  speaking  of  days 
which  have  passed  fifty  years  ago.  But  space  defies 
the  attempt;  they  are  left  aside,  illustrative  and  in- 
teresting as  many  are.  Only  the  strongest  and  high- 
est surging  of  the  currents  of  those  days  may  be  picked 
out  as  the  stream  of  time  hurries  past. 

Is  it  wrong  to  write  at  all  when  there  is  so  much  of 
what  many  must  feel  to  be  untoward  haste?  I  do  not 
think  so,  for  men  must  be  fed  even  though  you  cannot 
provide  for  them  the  best  food  best  prepared.  You 
must  do  all  you  can  within  the  time  allotted  to  secure 
for  them  the  best  available,  or  they  may  go  farther 
and  fare  worse.  This  is  the  plea  I  would  put  in  both 
for  publishers  and  writer.  If  there  is  much  that  the 
subject  of  a  biography  has  himself  said  or  written, 
which  may  be  presented  because  already  public,  the 
biographer  is  doubly  fortunate  in  that,  saying  little 
himself,  he  can  bring  his  readers  within  sound  of  the 
very  voice  to  which  he  himself  has  been  listening.  We 
do  not  care  to  know  the  effect  of  life  and  events  on  the 
mind  of  a  writer.  We  desire  to  hear  the  person  whose 
life  formed  those  events  or  whose  existence  illumined 
them.  Comment  on  a  character  and  the  attempted 
dissection  of  motives  and  actions  on  the  part  of  an 

iv 


PREFACE 

essayist  or  historian  we  must  often  feel  to  be  an  imper- 
tinence. Let  the  dead  speak.  Do  not  lecture  around 
their  shrines.  To  do  so  would  be  to  confess  that  life 
is,  indeed,  a  vain  show.  If  the  memory  of  those  just 
taken  from  us  does  not  suffice  for  comment,  we  confess 
they  are  already  half  forgotten.  But  it  will  be  long 
before  the  hurrying  waves  of  daily  or  hourly  business 
in  the  struggle  of  life  can  efface  any  memory  cherished 
by  her  people,  or  any  judgment  of  character  formed  by 
the  loving  countyrmen  of  our  dear  Queen. 

Fortunately,  however  slight  must  be  the  sketch  of 
her  reign,  and  however  limited  the  space  given  for  it, 
the  great  features  of  her  life  are  described  by  herself, 
and  the  impressions  made  on  a  mind  wonderfully  open, 
honest,  and  truthful  have  been  written  down  at  the 
time  by  her  own  hand.  It  is  this  which  reconciles  me 
somewhat  to  the  want  in  this  volume  of  the  letters 
giving  the  thoughts  of  the  Queen's  contemporaries 
on  the  wars,  the  changes  in  Church  and  State,  and 
the  social  and  literary  landmarks  of  her  days. 

To  Mr.  Mildred  I  am  indebted  for  excellent  secretarial 
work,  and  for  the  use  of  shorthand,  which  is  in  itself 
one  of  the  achievements  of  the  late  reign.  The  em- 
bodiment of  the  words  of  the  author  in  pictures,  the 
art  of  illustration,  exercised  for  quick  presentation  of 
the  scenes  that  the  public  desire  to  witness,  has  seen 
its  popular  development  only  in  our  time.  I  am  in- 
debted to  Mr.  G.  Floyd  for  the  judgment  he  has  brought 
to  bear  on  the  choice  of  photographs,  drawings,  and 
pictures  he  has  been  enabled  to  collect  for  this  work. 
To  him  is  due  the  gathering  in  of  most  of  the  objects 
which  have  become  mementoes  of  the  days  of  the  great 


PREFACE 

Queen.  Mr.  A.  Rischgitz  has  kindly  assisted  by  his 
wide  knowledge  of  art.  I  fear  it  has  not  always  been 
possible  to  trace  the  exact  dates  of  some  of  the  portraits, 
but  the  courtesy  of  those  who  have  rights  in  these 
matters  has  been  unfailing.  To  the  proprietors  of 
various  periodicals  I  am  indebted  for  allowing  the 
reproduction  of  some  things  that  have  appeared  in 
their  pages.  Above  all,  in  this  category  of  obligation, 
I  must  renew  my  thanks  to  Sir  Theodore  Martin,  whose 
invaluable  work  has  been  largely  drawn  upon  for  the 
original  documents  which  show  the  character  of  our 
late  sovereign,  as  drawn  by  her  own  letters  and  the 
correspondence  of  Prince  Albert.  This  work  of  Sir 
Theodore's  was  published  at  the  instance  of  the  Queen, 
who  fully  agreed  that  it  was  necessary  that  some  au- 
thoritative and  standard  history  of  the  transactions 
in  which  her  Majesty  and  the  Prince  shared  should 
be  published  to  counteract  the  false  impression  that 
had  been  sown  by  gossip  relative  to  the  Prince's  part 
in  public  affairs. 

Determined  as  this  nation  is  to  govern  itself,  it  was 
always  easy  for  the  envious  or  malicious  to  sow  seeds 
of  suspicion  in  regard  to  the  conduct  of  a  foreigner  in 
our  midst  who  held  the  high  place  of  Prince  Consort. 
The  silence  which  must  veil  the  councils  of  the  Minis- 
ters of  the  Crown,  especially  on  foreign  affairs,  is  pecu- 
liarly liable  to  breed  distrust,  unless  there  be  a  clear 
understanding  as  to  the  limits  of  influence.  Where 
there  is  family  connection  or  relationship  with  foreign 
Courts  there  must  be  private  correspondence.  This 
may  have  an  immense  influence  for  good,  and  work 
for  the  peace  of  the  world.     But  necessarily  secret  as 

vi 


PREFACE 

it  is,  the  public  were  apt  to  be  disquieted,  unless  they 
could  hear  and  see  something  of  what  had  passed,  so 
that  they  might  judge  of  the  conduct  of  those  likely 
to  have  influence  in  current  events.  The  full  publica- 
tion of  the  part  taken  by  the  Queen  and  Prince  in  sup- 
porting their  Ministers  abroad  in  enforcing  British  in- 
fluence and  persuading  foreign  relatives  to  see  matters 
in  a  British  light,  or  at  all  events  in  clearly  showing 
them  the  British  position  so  that  it  might  be  under- 
stood, was  an  immense  advantage  to  this  country. 
Half  the  wars  of  the  world  come  from  misunderstand- 
ings. Half  the  triumphs  of  peace  are  unseen  and  un- 
sung because  the  misunderstanding  has  been  cleared 
away  by  correspondence.  Were  there  no  means  of 
showing  to  each  other  the  minds  of  contending  peoples 
or  governments  except  through  the  official  machinery 
of  diplomacy,  there  would  be  a  greatly  enhanced  danger 
of  war.  Battle  is  joined  now  not  by  the  rivalries  and 
ambitions  of  princes,  but  because  of  the  discussion 
and  the  consequent  fanning  of  the  flame  of  difference 
between  peoples  by  the  Press  of  the  opposing  nations. 
To  prevent  the  dispute  from  growing  high  enough 
to  be  the  sport  of  popular  winds,  to  damp  down  the 
enmities  by  intimate  representation  and  explanation, 
may  be  the  happy  and  unseen  result  of  the  corre- 
spondence of  the  wearers  of  the  crown.  Nor  need  it 
be  feared  the  pure  national  interests  will  thereby  be 
endangered.  \  No  sovereign  can  retain  the  affection 
or  trust  of  the  people  who  does  not  show  himself  to  be 
at  least  as  full  of  the  national  spirit  as  any  one  of  his 
subjects.  He  must  represent  himself  as  the  national 
champion.     The  jealousy  of  foreign  influence  is  so 

vii 


PREFACE 

marked  a  trait  in  Britain  that  no  one  would  dream  of 
trying  to  trick  the  country  by  using  influence  save 
through  the  Ministers  responsible  to  the  House  of 
Commons  and  the  constituencies.  But  Ministers  have 
been  known  to  be  very  ignorant  not  only  of  foreign 
affairs,  but  even  of  the  vital  conditions  of  our  own 
dominions  beyond  sea.  It  is,  therefore,  possible  for  the 
wearer  of  the  crown  himself,  if  conversant  with  other 
rulers  and  other  governments,  to  guide  the  counsels 
of  his  Ministers  into  channels  of  knowledge  and  of 
peace.  To  do  otherwise  would  be  against  his  own 
interest.  And  yet  so  sensitive  was  the  country  to  the 
supposed  influences  from  abroad  of  which  they  im- 
agined Prince  Albert  might  be  the  instrument,  that 
at  the  very  height  of  his  usefulness  the  crowds  in 
London  believed  that  he  had  been  committed  to  the 
Tower!  The  papers,  letters,  and  conversations  of 
the  Prince,  given  to  the  world  through  Sir  Theodore 
Martin,  proved  how  absurd  had  been  these  suspicions, 
how  unfounded  the  criticisms  of  the  crowd. 

As  one  of  the  Queen's  Ministers  wrote  to  her  early  in 
1865,  when  it  still  seemed  so  hard  for  her  to  fight  on 
alone  after  the  loss  of  him  who  had  worked  so  well  for 
Britain,  and  had  been  so  little  understood — 

"We  ask  not  Time  to  take  thy  grief  away. 
Or  waken  memory  of  the  joy  that's  gone. 
But  only  that  the  years  may  bring  repose. 
And  lead  thee  gently  as  they  joiirney  on. 

"That  as  he  lived  to  whom  thy  life  was  given 
In  high  communion  'midst  the  things  of  earth. 
Thou  too  mayst  see  in  all  things  round  thee  here 
The  dawn  and  promise  of  the  second  birth, 
viii 


PREFACE 

"  And  though  the  sun  that  does  not  shine  on  us 
May  deepen  shadows  from  the  cloud  above. 
Those  voices  sink  into  the  soul  at  last 
In  ceaseless  witness  of  eternal  love. 

"  And  so  upon  the  torn  and  bleeding  heart 

There  come  from  nature  and  from  human-kind 
From  faith  and  patience,  and  from  duty  done, 
A  holier  sorrow,  and  the  firmer  mind. 

"For  all  the  world  is  God's,  and  all  its  plain, 

Though  scarred  with  sorrow  and  with  human  ills, 
Is  hourly  watered  by  the  streams  that  flow 
Fresh  from  the  bosom  of  the  Eternal  Hills." 

And  nobly  did  the  Queen  force  herself  to  work  as 
before  her  loss,  though  she  could  not  face  as  before  the 
constant  social  representation  of  her  office,  which  had 
been  made  easy  for  her  by  her  husband.  The  way  that 
she  had  to  tread  had  henceforth  to  be  taken  without 
the  constant  sense  of  support  and  efficient  aid  she  had 
known  since  her  marriage.  The  look  that  she  gave 
to  all  who  came  before  her,  gathering  in,  as  it  seemed 
from  the  gaze,  the  character  she  desired  to  read,  used 
to  be  brief,  and  the  impression  gathered  from  it  could 
be  compared,  confirmed,  or  modified  by  the  wisdom  of 
the  Prince.  But  now  that  he  was  no  more  there,  her 
quiet  scrvitiny  had  to  tell  her  more.  It  had  to  place 
in  a  distinct  niche  in  her  memory  what  she  thought  of 
the  countenance  of  each  person,  and  the  after-talk  on 
character  could  not  be  corrected,  as  before.  That  quiet 
examination  by  the  open  blue  eyes  of  the  Queen  before 
she  let  speech  relieve  the  tension  gave  her  an  insight 
into  the  mind  of  any  one  standing  before  her  which 
seemed  a  habit  formidable  enough  to  a  stranger,  but 

ix 


PREFACE 

was  part  of  the  quiet  method  which  distinguished  her 
in  look,  judgment,  and  action. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  influence  of  her  long 
life  told  greatly  on  the  social  manners  of  those  open  to 
the  example  of  a  Court.  There  is  no  doubt  that  when 
her  ways  and  conduct  were  fully  known  and  the  force 
of  her  character  recognized,  a  better,  purer  tone  re- 
placed the  loose  and  loud  and  drunken  bearing  of  some 
of  the  society  of  the  men  of  her  younger  days.  There 
was  then  courtliness  enough  in  manner  around  her, 
and  more  of  finer  bowing  and  courtesying  than  we  can 
show  now.  Men  and  women  sat  up  in  their  chairs, 
and  there  was  not  so  much  relaxing  of  the  muscles 
as  there  is  now.  But  there  was  an  infinitely  greater 
relaxing  of  the  mind,  and  the  lolling  in  modem  arm- 
chairs before  dinner  is  not  the  prelude,  as  was  much 
of  the  old  stateliness,  to  a  wholly  relaxed  attitude  under 
the  table,  and  a  voice  of  well-turned  compliment  ex- 
changed for  a  vinous  snore. 

The  concentration  of  people  in  large  towns,  and  the 
easy  and  quick  communication  with  all  parts  of  the 
country,  and  indeed  with  all  parts  of  the  world,  have 
wholly  modified  the  modes  and  manners  of  all.  There 
is  not  so  much  individuality  of  character,  outwardly  at 
least,  because  the  costumes,  the  thought,  the  habits 
of  all  have  been  made  similar  through  constant  inter- 
course. Even  the  peasant  dresses  which  distinguished 
one  part  of  a  country  from  another  are  all  but  gone. 
In  society  it  is  thought  extraordinary  to  hear  a  country 
accent.  But  the  better  has  obtained  mastery  over 
the  inferior.  Crime  is  less  frequent.  The  opportunity 
for  acquiring  an  education  is  almost  forced  upon  all. 

X 


PREFACE 

The  advance  in  knowledge  of  one  man  through  study 
and  invention  becomes  at  once  the  advantage  and 
the  property  of  all.  When  all  read  all  may  rise.  All 
can  see  clearly  how  the  successful  man  has  risen.  In 
the  Queen's  girlhood  the  labor  of  acquiring  the  knowl- 
edge every  man  of  the  world  can  now  hardly  escape 
possessing  was  sufficient  to  deter  the  commonalty. 
When  there  was  no  railway  between  London  and 
Windsor,  and  no  bicycle,  and  horseflesh  gave  the  only 
means  of  quick  transit  from  place  to  place,  travel  was 
a  luxury,  and  a  wide  acquaintance  with  men  and 
things  a  comparative  rarity.  Open  a  newspaper  of 
1837  and  see  how  meagre  the  news,  and  how  few  the 
data  on  which  a  reader  could  inform  himself  of  the 
great  events  that  might  be  passing.  Now  all  that  has 
happened,  and  a  great  deal  of  what  has  never  hap- 
pened, is  detailed,  with  comment,  so  that  no  one  need 
be  at  the  trouble  of  making  up  his  own  mind  on  any 
subject  unless  he  be  paid  to  do  so  in  a  newspaper  office, 
when  a  "  leading  article "  may  be  wanted. 

King  George  III.  never  used  the  Press  as  a  means 
of  communicating  with  his  subjects.  Queen  Victoria 
often  had  her  thanks  to  the  nation  conveyed  to  her 
people  through  the  newspapers.  Hers  was  the  first  of 
the  eras  in  which  "  the  thought  of  one  is  as  the  thought 
of  all."  Electric  currents,  though  known  for  so  long 
before,  had  never  until  her  reign  become  the  servants 
of  man.  And  with  the  growing  completeness  of  com- 
munication had  come  also  the  greater  recognition  of 
citizenship.  The  prison,  the  evil  quarters  of  the  cities, 
the  condition  of  the  poor,  the  treatment  of  the  insane, 
were  all  changed  for  the  better  with  the  admission  of 

xi 


PREFACE 

the  main  body  of  the  people  to  power.  Men  of  capacity 
and  wealth  had  always  been  able  to  rise  to  places  of  in- 
fluence before  her  time,  but  they  were  not  as  a  rule  in- 
cluded in  the  inner  circle  of  government  by  becoming 
Cabinet  Ministers.  Britain  was  represented  then  by 
the  men  whose  fathers  had  already  risen.  The  "  self- 
made  man  "  came  only  into  the  Cabinet  in  the  middle  of 
the  nineteenth  century.  In  all  the  wise  changes  made 
in  legislative  and  social  work  the  Queen  took  the  deepest 
interest,  and  as  far  as  she  was  permitted  by  the  un- 
written laws  of  the  Constitution,  which  exist  in  Eng- 
land in  practice  and  not  in  parchment,  her  action  was 
ever  on  the  side  of  judicious  and  considerate  improve- 
ment. The  Queen  of  George  III.  had  been  strict  in  the 
discipline  of  her  Court.  Queen  Victoria  set  her  face 
resolutely  against  the  attacks  of  the  unworthy  to  lower 
the  standard  of  conduct.  Around  her,  at  least,  there 
should  be  no  tampering  with  evil,  and  the  sturdy  moral 
wealth  of  the  British  people  should  be  represented  to  the 
full  in  the  unwritten  laws  of  a  clean  and  healthy  tone.  \ 
Plenty  of  enjoyment  and  fun,  but  in  speech  or  charac^ 
ter  and  company  nothing  low  and  nasty.  This  w^as 
good  British  common  -  sense,  and  vigorously  it  was 
maintained.  The  English  love  cleanliness  and  health- 
iness, and  so  did  their  Queen,  in  this  a  typical  English- 
woman. In  one  word,  she  did  all  that  woman  and  sov- 
ereign could  do  to  influence  for  good  all  movements  of  her 
time.  Through  a  moderating,  wise,  and  motherly  mind, 
she  worked  with  effect  for  her  countrymen  in  their  rela- 
tions with  foreign  powers,  in  the  bettering  of  their  own 
legislation,  and  for  the  social  life  of  the  whole  commu- 
nity. She  made  herself  understood, beloved,  and  revered. 


CONTENTS 


CHAP.  PAGE 

Preface     - iii 

I,  Early  Days i 

II.  Accession  and  Coronation 6i 

III.  Betrothal  and  Marriage  of  the  Queen     .    .  98 

IV.  Early  Married  Life 118 

V.  Events  of  the  Later  Forties 154 

VI.  Tours  of  the  Queen  and  Prince  Consort  .    .  182 

VII.  Stirring  Times  of  Peace  and  War 199 

VIII.  The  Death  of  the  Prince  Consort 252 

IX.  From  the  Seventies  to  the  Eighties  ....  276 

X.  The  Jubilee  and  After 315 

XI.  The  Last  Decade  of  the  Century 326 

XII.  The  Queen's  Homes 340 

XIII.  The  Passing  of  the  Queen 359 

Index 373 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


THE  MARRIAGE  OF  THE  QUEEN  AND  PRINCE  AIL- 
BERT  AT  THE  CHAPEL  ROYAL,  ST.  JAMES'S, 

FEBRUARY    10,   184O Frontispiece 

(From  a  picture  by  Sir  George  Hayter) 

PRINCESS   VICTORIA  AND  THE   CHILD  MUSICIAN   .  Facing  p.      24 
(From  a  drawing  by  Alec  Ball) 

PRINCESS   VICTORIA   AND   HER   MOTHER   IN    1834  •  "  3® 

(From  a  drawing  by  Sir  George  Hayter) 

THE    PRINCESS    VICTORIA'S    ADVENTURE    IN    THE 

APPLE-TREE "  38 

THE  PRINCESS  VICTORIA  AT  THE  AGE  OF  ELEVEN  "  44 

PRINCESS  VICTORIA   AT  THE   AGE   OF  SIXTEEN     .  "  56 

(From  a  drawing  by  Sir  George  Hayter) 

THE      QUEEN      RECEIVING     THE     NEWS     OF     HER 

ACCESSION    AT    KENSINGTON     PALACE,    JUNE 

20,  1837 "  ^2 

THE  QUEEN  PRESIDING  OVER  HER  FIRST  COUNCIL  "  64 

(From  a  painting  by  Sir  David  Wilkie,  R.A.) 
THE  QUEEN  AT  THE  AGE  OF    NINETEEN    IN  HER 

ROBES  OF  STATE "  74 

(From  the  painting  by  Sir  George  Hayter) 

THE  CORONATION  OF  QUEEN  VICTORIA    ....  "  7^ 

(From  the  painting  by  Sir  George  Hayter) 
THE  QUEEN  IN  HER  CORONATION  ROBES      ...  "  80 

PRINCE  ALBERT   AT   THE   AGE   OF   TWENTY-FOUR  "  100 

(From  a  miniature  by  Robert  Thorburn) 
THE  QUEEN  IN   1840 "         ^^4 

(From  a  painting  by  William  Fowler) 

BALMORAL "  ^40 

THE  QUEEN  IN   1842 "  '46 

THE  QUEEN  IN   1843 "  ^50 

XV 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

ONE  OF  THE   QUEEN'S    EARLY   DRAWING-ROOMS  .     Facing  p.    l6o 
(From  a  picture  by  A.  E.  Chalon,  R.A.) 

THE  QUEEN   IN   1845 "         170 

(From  a  painting  by  John  Partridge) 

QUEEN  VICTORIA'S  MOTHER "         178 

(From  a  picture  by  Winterhalter) 

PRINCE  ALBERT   IN  THE   ROBES  OF  THE   GARTER  "         190 

(From  the  painting  by  WinterhaUer) 

THE    PRINCE    CONSORT    IN    THE    UNIFORM    OF    A 

FIELD  MARSHAL "  200 

THE    PRINCE    OF    WALES    AND    PRINCE    ALFRED 

IN   1849 "  208 

PRINCE    ALBERT  IN   185I "  212 

THE  QUEEN  IN   185I "  230 

THE   QUEEN   WITH   H.R.H.  THE    PRINCE    CONSORT 

IN   i860 "  240 

THE  QUEEN  IN   1855 "  248 

THE  LOWER  WARD,   WINDSOR  CASTLE       ....  "  270 
THE     GREEN    DRAWING-ROOM,    WINDSOR    CASTLE  "  286 
THE  QUEEN  AT  THE  AGE  OF  SIXTY-SIX    ....  "  30O 
THE     AUTHORIZED      DIAMOND      JUBILEE     PHOTO- 
GRAPH OF  THE  QUEEN "  316 

THE    QUEEN    IN    THE    DRESS    WORN    BY    HER    AT 

THE  JUBILEE  SERVICE,   1887 "  330 

THE  FOUR   GENERATIONS "         350 

Taken  in  1894,  at  White  Lodge,  Richmond  Park,  on  the  occa- 
sion of  the  baptism  of  the  eldest  child  of  H.R.H.  the  Duke 
of  York 


VICTORIA    R.  I. 
HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 


N. 


VICTORIA   R.  I. 

HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 


CHAPTER  I 
EARLY     DAYS 

I  WRITE  at  a  moment  of  deepest  sorrow.  I  am  told 
that  the  words  that  fill  in  these  pages  must  tell  now  more 
than  they  were  intended  to  tell  of  the  life  of  the  great 
Queen  just  lost  to  us. 

A  rapid  survey  of  the  history  of  the  century  had  been 
prepared.  Now  such  a  sketch  would  be  colorless  and 
of  little  interest  were  the  presence  of  the  mother  of  her 
people  not  felt  throughout  the  events  of  her  reign.  It 
is  good  that  this  feeling  exists.  It  is  a  benefit  to  a  nation 
when  all  men  and  women  can  look  on  the  head  of  the  state 
with  a  human  interest.  It  is  well  that  love  and  sympathy 
should  attend  the  sovereign,  that  no  mere  fonnal  obeisance 
be  made  to  one  who  in  herself  has  represented  what  is 
best  in  the  history  of  her  time. 

The  virtues  of  a  nation  are  the  seed  of  victories.  With- 
out the  love  of  hearth  and  home,  the  success  of  arms  can 
only  be  a  passing  glamour.  From  the  strong  are  strong 
men  bred.  A  people  forsaking  private  and  public  honor, 
and  yielding  to  vanity  and  license,  may  be  artists,  but  not 
conquerors.  A  dwindling  population  and  a  fraudulent 
government  will  mark  its  decline.  Where  scope  exists 
to  give  an  example  which  will  feed  the  national  power 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

by  the  silent  teaching  of  virtue,  one  individual  man  or 
woman  may  hold  the  highest  mission. 

The  occupant  of  a  throne  has  in  Britain  such  an  oppor- 
tunity; and  most  noble,  most  regal,  and  most  womanly 
has  been  the  Queen's  example  for  the  space  of  the  lives 
of  two  generations.  God  be  thanked  for  this!  Under 
the  sway  of  our  dear  mother  He  has  allowed  this  nation 
to  be  strong  in  commerce  and  in  colonies.  He  has  blessed 
it  with  so  manifest  an  increase  that  its  sons,  who  have 
gone  over  sea  founding  nations  in  other  lands,  have  ever 
turned  to  the  old  country  for  a  model  whereon  to  build  the 
new  fortunes,  fed  by  new  resources  in  regions  altogether 
unknown  to  the  spacious  times  of  great  Elizabeth. 

And  to  our  Queen,  whose  reign  has  lasted  so  long  that 
the  memory  of  few  now  living  could  recall  its  beginning, 
was  justly  ascribed  all  majesty  and  honor  in  fostering  and 
in  furthering  the  wondrous  increase  which  seemed  to 
speak  the  blessing  of  God.  In  other  lands  and  under  other 
reigns,  if  a  man  did  anything  base,  he  could  say  that  no 
man  need  think  evil  of  his  conduct,  in  that  the  highest 
in  the  land  did  likewise.  With  us,  through  sixty  years, 
it  might  always  be  held  an  incentive  to  worthy  conduct 
that  the  head  of  the  State  lived  a  pure  and  noble  life.  Her 
conduct  has  been  a  light  and  guide,  and  up  to  the  last 
she  has  done  her  work,  ever  laboring  for  the  welfare  of 
her  people.  The  end  has  come  quickly,  after  a  long  life 
filled  with  duty  done.  It  has  been  the  sudden  quenching 
of  the  light  of  a  planet  where,  as  in  the  tropics,  the  bright 
dawn  of  day  comes  with  little  warning. 

Before  we  enter  upon  the  life  of  the  Queen  we  must  see 
into  what  kind  of  an  English  world  that  life  entered.  The 
long  reign  of  George  III.  closed  on  January  29,  1820,  and 
his  son,  who  was  known  to  his  friends  as  the  "  first  gentle- 
man of  Europe,"  succeeded  him.  Society  was  full  of 
discussions  on  the  subject  of  the  disagreements  between 
the  King  and  his  wife.  There  was  a  conspiracy  against 
the  ministers  of  the  most  desperate  kind,  and  it  was  only 
owing  to  a  secret  warning  given  to  one  of  the  political 

2 


EARLY    DAYS 

leaders  that  the  objects  of  the  conspirators  were  defeated. 
A  man  who  had  served  as  a  subaltern  officer  in  the  West 
Indies,  named  Thistlewood,  had  returned  to  England, 
after  having  resided  in  France,  where  he  had  become  a 
revolutionist  and  demagogue.  He  had  actually  sent  a 
challenge  to  Lord  Sidmouth  after  insulting  him,  and, 
furious  that  it  was  not  accepted,  determined  to  try  other 
means  of  revenge.  He  gathered  around  him  a  reckless 
crew.  The  plot  they  hatched  was  one  which  certainly 
implied  the  sacrifice  of  their  own  lives ;  for,  as  they  were 
a  mere  handful  in  number,  it  was  not  likely  that  such 
open  outrage  as  they  contemplated  would  have  allowed 
them  to  escape.  A  certain  number  were  to  devote  them- 
selves to  the  assassination  of  the  ministers,  another  party 
were  to  seize  upon  the  artillery  in  London,  while  the  Mansion 
House,  which  was  to  be  seized,  was  to  be  fortified  by  the 
guns  they  had  taken,  and  then  an  attack  was  to  be  made 
upon  the  Bank,  while  incendiary  fires  should  distract 
the  attention  of  the  troops  and  the  police.  Happily 
this  conspiracy  failed,  and  its  authors  received  their 
deserts. 

Taxation  had  been  very  high  since  the  great  war  with 
France.  One  shape  which  these  imposts  took  was  particular- 
ly disliked,  in  that  it  took  the  form  of  a  tax  on  light.  For 
every  window  used  it  was  necessary  to  pay  so  much,  the 
result  being  that  windows  were  bricked  up  and  houses 
darkened  to  escape  the  tax.  The  sovereign's  income 
was  then  £1,057,000.  Our  navy  cost  us  five  and  a  half 
millions  a  year. 

The  questions  with  regard  to  giving  a  more  equal  meas- 
ure of  power,  according  as  towns  might  possess  a  small 
or  large  number  of  people,  were  already  rife.  This  ques- 
tion of  so-called  reform  continued  until  far  into  Queen 
Victoria's  reign.  Lord  Wellesley,  the  brother  of  the  famous 
Duke  of  Wellington,  was  Governor  and  Viceroy  of  Ireland, 
and  it  is  to  be  noted,  with  some  curiosity,  that  the  family 
originally,  as  did  Wellington  himself  in  his  early  years, 
signed  themselves  "Wesley."     The  name  was  the  same 

3 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

as  that  of  the  famous  preacher  who  founded  so  large  a  re- 
Hgious  community,  and  it  is  not  clear  why  "  Wellesley " 
was  assumed  in  preference.  Mr.  Canning  had  been  nomi- 
nated Governor-General  of  India,  a  post  which  would  take 
him  away  from  participation  in  home  politics  for  a  time. 
The  great  Napoleon  was  about  to  die  at  St.  Helena  in  the 
midst  of  a  terrible  storm  of  thunder  and  lightning ;  and, 
amid  the  volleying  discharge  of  the  thunder,  he  seemed 
to  imagine  that  he  was  again  on  a  field  of  battle,  the  last 
words  those  around  his  bed  could  hear  being :  "  Tete 
d'Armee."    Then,  again,  "  Fils"  and  "France." 

In  1 82 1  the  King  visited  Ireland,  where  there  was  great 
overcrowding  of  the  people  upon  poor  land.  They  imagined 
that  the  mere  coming  of  the  King  might  bring  about  a 
'great  change,  for  it  is  ever  a  characteristic  of  Celtic  people 
to  expect  the  governments  and  their  leaders  to  do  more 
for  them  than  they  can  ever  do  for  themselves,  and  dis- 
appointment was  proportionately  keen  when  it  was  ap- 
parent that  the  royal  visit  could  not  counterbalance  the 
failure  of  the  potato  crop.  But  the  British  government 
placed  half  a  million  at  once  at  the  disposal  of  Lord  Welles- 
ley,  and  enormous  subscriptions  were  sent  from  England 
to  Ireland  to  mitigate  the  sufferings  of  the  people,  ag- 
gravated by  fever — a  sure  comrade  of  famine. 

The  personal  presence  of  the  King  both  in  Ireland  and 
in  Scotland  had  created  a  most  favorable  impression. 
His  manner  was  most  gracious,  and  his  tact  in  conversa- 
tion unfailing.  Nothing  could  exceed  the  enthusiasm 
that  was  shown  at  Edinburgh  when,  in  1822,  he  landed 
at  Leith,  being  welcomed  there  by  an  immense  throng 
who  went  with  him  up  to  Auld  Reekie.  He  wore  a  High- 
land dress  of  red  Stuart  tartan,  a  close-fitting  jacket  being 
of  the  same  pattern  as  the  kilt,  a  proceeding  based  upon  a 
somewhat  fruitless  emulation  of  the  Pretender — his  cousin 
— of  a  previous  generation. 

An  incident  that  shows  the  difference  between  the  suc- 
cess of  our  excise  administration  of  the  present  day,  in 
contrast  to  its  inefficiency  in  some  respects  in  those  days, 

4 


EARLY    DAYS 

occurs  to  me  as  having  been  mentioned  by  an  old  servant 
in  a  house  on  the  Clyde.  Describing  the  success  with 
which  smugglers  brought  in  spirits,  and  also  the  ease 
with  which  it  was  possible  to  get  illegally  made  whiskey 
without  payment  of  the  duty,  he  said  that  George  IV.  had 
been  told  by  George  Duke  of  Argyll  that  the  best  whiskey 
was  that  made  in  secret.  The  King  asked  him  if  he  could 
procure  any,  and  he  undertook  to  do  so.  The  native 
whiskey-makers  were  communicated  with  through  some 
secret  friend,  and  were  told  that  a  good  cask  was  wanted. 
They,  on  their  part,  stipulated  that  the  Duke  must  go  in 
a  boat  alone  to  the  base  of  a  certain  ravine  where  they 
would  meet  him,  and,  appearing  according  to  promise, 
a  good-sized  cask  was  brought  down  in  the  darkness  to 
the  boat,  which  was  shoved  off,  and  in  due  time  the  cargo 
was  presented  to  the  King,  "the  fountain  of  law,  order, 
and  government,"  at  Edinburgh,  and  the  illegal  contents 
"discussed." 

Among  the  events  of  the  last  years  of  this  King's  life 
was  the  war  undertaken  by  the  Indian  government  against 
Burma,  a  country  destined  to  be  annexed  to  the  British 
Empire  late  in  the  Queen's  life,  when  Lord  Dufferin  was 
Viceroy  of  India. 

The  Greeks,  having  risen  against  the  Turks,  fell  before 
the  cruel  onslaught  of  Ibrahim  Pasha,  and  the  movement 
with  which  the  great  poet  Lord  Byron  had  associated 
himself  ended  in  blood  and  ruin.  The  Turks  did  a  great 
deal  of  damage  at  Athens  to  the  Parthenon,  damage  which 
was  never  sought  to  be  repaired.  It  was  the  ruined  con- 
dition of  the  building  which  led,  in  after  j'^ears,  Lord  Elgin 
to  secure  for  the  Britivsh  Museum  the  famous  marbles  which 
at  that  time  seemed  destined  to  become  a  prey  to  neglect, 
if  they  even  escaped  being  burned  for  lime  or  destroyed 
by  an  enemy.  Most  of  the  remains  of  Attic  art  taken  by 
Elgin  arrived  safely  in  England,  but  one  vessel,  with 
many  noble  objects  of  sculpture  and  decoration,  suffered 
shipwreck  off  Cerigo.  It  is  only  within  the  last  few  months 
that  diving  operations,  at  the  instance  of  the  King  of 

5 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

Greece,  have  been  undertaken,  and  bronze  statues  worthy 
of  the  best  period  of  Greek  art  have  been  rescued  from  the 
water  to  fill  places  in  those  fine  museums  which  it  has  been 
the  privilege  and  the  pride  of  the  King  of  the  Hellenes  to 
see  established  on  the  famous  centres  of  ancient  Greek 
life  and  action. 

Another  of  Queen  Victoria's  uncles,  the  Duke  of  York, 
died  in  1827.  It  was  he  who  built  the  fine  house  at  the 
corner  of  the  Green  Park  and  Pall  Mall,  known  to  our  genera- 
tion as  Stafford  House.  The  Duke  had  not  been  so  careful 
in  money  matters  as  he  was  in  military  administration, 
and  being  unable  to  finish  the  building  it  was  bought  by 
the  Duke  of  Sutherland,  who  added  the  whole  of  the  top 
story,  and  decorated  with  the  most  excellent  taste  the  hall 
and  the  fine  rooms  surrounding  it  on  the  two  first  floors. 

The  Duke  of  York's  funeral  was  said  to  be  the  cause  of 
Mr.  Canning's  death,  which  took  place  after  a  period  of 
vigorous  participation  in  public  affairs.  He  was  called 
the  first  debater  and  the  most  dexterous  wit  of  the  House 
of  Commons. 

The  coming  of  a  new  reign  was  heralded  by  a  bill  being 
introduced  to  allow  a  stamp  to  be  vised  for  the  King's  sign 
manual,  for  George  IV.  was  near  the  end  of  his  days,  and 
the  signing  of  so  many  documents  was  painful  to  him. 
Nothing  is  more  remarkable,  as  showing  the  devotion  to 
duty  of  Queen  Victoria,  than  the  extraordinary  number 
of  documents  which  were  always  signed  by  her.  She  wrote 
easily  a  fine  Jiand writing.  In  spite  of  the  daily  necessity 
of  writing  so  many  letters,  her  handwriting  was  always 
clear  and  legible,  exhibiting  the  determined  character  of 
the  hand  which  guided  the  pen.  It  was  seldom  that  papers 
accumulated  in  arrear  of  work,  and  quite  to  the  end  it 
was  remarkable  how  seldom  any  document  waited  for  the 
sign  manual.  It  was  a  most  unwonted  circumstance  that 
a  batch  of  Queen's  Counsel  had  to  wait  for  their  "silks," 
because  the  signatures  necessary  for  their  assumption  of 
the  honor  had,  owing  to  her  illness,  not  been  given. 

George  IV.  bravely  met  the  intimation  of  the  doctors 

6 


EARLY   DAYS 

that  they  could  not  divert  the  stroke  of  death,  cahnly  an- 
swering, "God's  will  be  done,"  and  then  receiving  the 
sacrament.  He  lingered  for  some  more  days,  dying  on 
the  night  of  Friday,  June  25th.  He  shortly  before  feebly 
called  to  an  attendant:  "0  God!  I  am  dying!" 

His  brother,  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  William  IV.,  who 
succeeded  him,  told  the  members  of  the  cabinet  that  he 
was  anxious  their  services  should  be  continued,  a  token 
of  good-will  which  did  not  prevent  them  from  resigning 
shortly  afterwards.  Bluff,  sailor-like,  outspoken,  and 
wanting  the  refinement  in  manner  of  his  brother,  he  was 
yet  calculated  to  win  more  popularity.  His  chief  pleasure 
had  been  in  entertaining  at  a  very  generous  table,  and  he 
continued  throughout  his  reign  to  be  so  hospitable  that 
it  was  calculated  that  he  gave,  on  an  average,  dinners 
to  some  thousands  of  his  acquaintances  every  year.  He 
naturally  delighted  in  having  his  old  messmates  of  the 
navy  under  his  roof.  Under  Canning  he  had  accepted 
the  position  of  Lord  High  Admiral,  being  reckoned  there- 
fore to  have  taken  ofi&ce  under  that  minister.  His  was  the 
last  tenure  of  that  office,  wliich  has  since  remained  in 
abeyance,  the  work  being  performed  by  the  Board  of 
Admiralty.  This  body  has  always  contained  among 
its  members  many  of  the  best  of  the  superior  officers  of 
the  navy.  They  have  always  been  able  to  meet  together 
in  consultation,  so  that  the  professional  opinion  of  the 
service  has  always  been  made  immediately  to  bear  upon 
the  civil  head,  the  First  Lord  of  the  Admiralty,  who  rep- 
resents, in  Parliament,  ministerial  responsibility  for  the 
efficiency  of  the  na\^''.  Many,  therefore,  in  the  army 
looked  to  the  efficiency  of  the  navy  as  having  been  greatly 
promoted  by  the  free  consultation,  and  therefore  by  the 
corporate  action,  of  the  professional  rulers  of  the  navy 
at  Whitehall.  The  King  was  always  thoroughly  in  touch 
with  the  spirit  of  the  service.  Not  only  all  the  admirals 
were  asked,  as  a  matter  of  course,  to  his  table,  but  many 
others  who  had  not  attained  that  rank,  but  who  were  able 
to  speak  of  ancient  memories  common  to  them  and  to  the 

7 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

King.  It  was  said  that  a  nautical  freedom  prevailed  at 
his  house,  a  freedom  wliich  gave  a  peculiar  heartiness  to 
the  conversation,  and  dignity  was  sometimes  lost  sight  of. 
It  was  even  declared  that  the  King,  the  "  fountain  of  honor," 
had  once  made  a  joke  on  the  sacred  subject  of  his  own 
decorations.  A  gentleman  had  troubled  him  often  for 
some  distinction,  he  had  complained,  but  the  King  con- 
tinued: "You  know  how  I  got  rid  of  him?  I  made  him  a 
Knight  of  the  Hanoverian  Guelphic  Order."  "Serve  him 
right,  sir,"  exclaimed  an  admiral  present,  amid  much 
laughter. 

The  King  lived  much  at  Bushey  Park,  a  melancholy 
place  except  in  summer,  when  all  the  neighborhood  of 
London  is  pleasant,  and  the  proximity  of  Hampton  Court 
and  the  fine  chestnut  avenues  made  Bushey  pleasant 
among  other  places.  The  ground  about  the  house  is 
very  flat  and  damp  in  winter.  There  are  some  fine  clumps 
of  evergreens  in  the  gardens,  dedicated  apparently  to  the 
Goddess  of  Dulness.  There  are  excellent  stables,  and 
the  King  lived  there  very  happily.  He  had  by  his  marriage 
two  girls,  who  both  died  when  babies,  and  it  became  evi- 
dent that  the  Princess  Victoria  might  succeed  to  the  crown. 

During  this  period  important  revolutions  took  place 
in  France  and  in  the  Netherlands.  Charles  X.  of  France 
was  held  to  be  despotic  and  bigoted,  and  he  was  compelled 
to  fly  to  England.  The  disturbances  in  the  Netherlands 
finally  ended  in  separation  between  the  Dutch  and  the 
Belgians,  and  the  constitution  of  the  Belgian  monarchy 
ended  in  a  Coburg  —  a  relation  of  Prince  Albert's  —  being 
called  to  the  throne  under  the  title  of  King  Leopold.  This 
King,  the  father  of  the  present  occupant  of  the  throne  at 
Brussels,  was  notable  for  the  coolness  of  his  judgment, 
and  throughout  his  life  he  was  a  most  sincere  and  valuable 
friend  to  Queen  Victoria.  His  knowledge  of  England  was 
great,  for  he  had  been  chosen  as  the  husband  of  Princess 
Charlotte,  the  daughter  of  George  IV.,  who,  until  the 
death  of  herself  and  her  child,  was  the  heir  to  the  English 
throne. 

8 


EARLY    DAYS 

The  year  1819  seems  far  away.  In  many  respects  the 
changes  have  been  enonnous,  and  yet  many  of  the  discus- 
sions upon  the  questions  of  the  day  seem  very  f  amihar.  The 
machinery  of  government  worked  smoothly  enough.  Gov- 
ernment succeeded  government  according  to  the  success 
of  their  respective  parties  in  obtaining  majorities  in  the 
House  of  Commons.  Important  as  Parliamentary  history 
is,  it  is  somehow  very  dull  to  read,  except  at  times  of  crises. 
Just  as  it  is  tiresome  to  listen  to  an  old  politician's  anecdotes 
of  the  House  of  Commons,  so  it  is  difficult  to  interest  the 
casual  reader  in  the  talk  in  the  Upper  or  Lower  House 
unless  any  speeches  immediately  effected  mighty  political 
movements. 

It  was  said,  in  describing  broadly  the  reigns  of  the  last 
three  kings,  that  public  and  private  virtue  had  especially 
signalized  the  sixt}^  years  of  George  III.  upon  the  throne. 
While  this  could  not  be  said  of  his  successor,  George  IV., 
it  was  held  that  his  days  were  notable  for  national  glor}^ 
in  victories  obtained  by  sea  and  by  land.  And  William 
IV.,  when  he  became  King,  although  not  before,  may  be 
said  to  have  shown  the  blessings  of  kindness  and  to  have 
enjoyed  happiness. 

In  the  metre  much  used  in  the  poetrj^  of  the  day.  Miss 
Knight  wrote : 

"  Of  George  the  Third's  long  and  arduous  sway 

A  reign  of  worth  and  virtue  we  may  name ; 
With  George  the  Fourth  we  see  our  isle  display 

The  brilliant  scenes  of  victory  and  fame; 
Affection's  kind  domestic  joj^s  we  view 

In  our  late  William's  short  benignant  reign. 
Oh!  may  our  Queen  her  grandsire's  steps  pursue. 

And  love  and  glory  as  reward  obtain. 
Possessing  in  all  British  hearts  the  place 

Her  noble  ancestors  so  justly  won; 
And  may  the  honors  of  the  Brunswick  race 

Resplendent  shine  coeval  with  the  sun." 

It  is  wonderful  with  what  indifferent  poetry  the  court 

9 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

of  the  Georges  was  satisfied.  The  flame  of  Bj^^ron,  the 
trumpet  notes  of  Campbell,  the  ringing  verse  of  Scott, 
could  not  entitle  them  to  the  laureateship.  It  was  held 
that  anybody  would  do  for  that,  much  as  the  late  William 
Morris  opined. 

In  painting,  also,  the  pleasing  vanities  of  William 
Beechey  were  preferred  to  the  stronger  character  that  the 
brushes  of  his  more  distinguished  fellow-painters  placed 
upon  the  canvas. 

The  Queen's  life  of  eighty-two  years  began  just  as  her 
grandfather's  equally  long  life  came  to  a  conclusion. 
Thus  these  two  lives  cover  a  space  of  over  one  hundred 
and  sixty  years.  Yet  the  steadfastness  of  the  English 
character,  and  the  excellence  of  the  Constitution  the  nation 
had  built  up  for  itself,  showed  throughout  this  long  period 
in  loyalty  to  the  throne.  Any  differences  in  politics  be- 
tween rival  parties  in  the  state  were  comparatively  trifling, 
so  that  a  foreign  critic  exclaimed  in  envy,  "  What  are  your 
differences?    They  are  merely  shades  of  variation." 

When  the  Queen  first  saw  the  light  it  was  onh^  four 
years  after  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  when  the  establishment 
of  peace,  after  the  great  war,  was  to  last  for  many  a  long 
day.  Not  that  there  lacked  occurrences  which  would  have 
led  to  events  of  greater  gravity  in  other  countries,  and 
which  produced  anxiety  in  this. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  state  of  Ireland  was  not  one  that 
could  be  looked  upon  with  satisfaction,  and  in  Britain 
trade  had  seldom  known  a  time  of  greater  stagnation. 

It  was  said  that  the  death  of  the  Princess  Charlotte, 
and  the  consequent  failure  of  her  direct  succession  to  the 
crown,  induced  several  of  the  royal  famity  to  enter  into 
matrimon5^  The  Duke  of  Clarence  was  accepted  bj'-  the 
Princess  of  Saxe-Meiningen ;  the  Duke  of  Kent  by  the 
Dowager  Princess  of  Leiningen,  sister  of  Prince  Leopold; 
and  the  Duke  of  Cambridge  by  the  Princess  of  Hesse. 
Parliament  voted  sums  for  these  several  couples  to  main- 
tain the  dignity  of  their  position. 

There  is  no  one  now  alive  who  could  tell  us  much  from 

10 


EARLY    DAYS 

personal  memon'  of  his  recollections  of  the  father  of  Prin- 
cess Victoria. 

The  Duke  of  Kent's  tutor  had  been  the  same  Dr.  John 
Fisher  who  afterwards  taught  Princess  Charlotte.  The 
Duke  had  led  a  verj^'  varied  life,  for  at  seventeen  years  of 
age  he  left  England  for  Hanover,  where  he  entered  the 
Hanoverian  anny,  well  known  even  then  among  Gennan 
armies  as  favoring  an  iron  discipline.  He  used  to  tell  how, 
being  placed  as  a  cadet  at  Hanover,  the  regiment  at  duty 
was  dismissed  in  the  usual  form  after  parade.  "But," 
he  wrote,  "the  general  commanding  happened  to  forget 
to  dismiss  me  from  the  post  I  had  been  ordered  to  take  up 
— such  dismissal  being  always  accompanied  by  a  distinct 
and  peculiar  ceremony — ^and  I  continued  in  a  very  uneasy 
position.  I  was  actually  forgotten  for  four  hours,  when 
the  commanding  officer  rode  up  and  apologized.  I  should 
have  remained  but  for  this  at  my  post  until  I  should  have 
fainted  from  fatigue." 

From  Hanover  he  went  to  Geneva,  by  direction  of  his 
parents,  but  he  returned  to  England  without  their  leave. 
For  tliis  proceeding  he  was  dismissed  to  Gibraltar,  and 
in  1 79 1  was  ordered  to  Canada,  sailing  thence  to  the  West 
Indies  to  join  Sir  Charles  Grey.  He  displaj^ed  conspicuous 
gallantrj^  at  the  capture  of  Guadeloupe  and  Martinique. 
Three  j^ears  later  he  went  to  Canada,  serving  as  major- 
general  at  Halifax  till  1798. 

He  much  enjoyed  the  sports  of  that  interesting  coast, 
indented  with  so  many  bays  cutting  into  its  well-wooded 
and  rocky  scenery.  He  hunted  deer  and  moose  in  the 
back  country,  made  many  expeditions  to  see  his  old  friends 
at  Quebec,  and  was  popular  with  every  one  with  the  ex- 
ception of  some  of  the  men  immediately  imder  his  own 
command. 

With  one  of  these  old  friends.  Colonel  De  Salaberry, 
he  ever  afterwards  kept  up  a  correspondence.  The  colonel 
was  in  command  of  the  forces  which  came  into  collision 
with  invaders  at  Chateaugay.  The  invasion  was  checked 
through  the  ability  of  the  French  Canadian  leader.     His 

II 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

family  still  possess  many  letters  from  the  Duke,  who 
had  a  great  desire  to  be  nominated  Governor-General  of 
Canada. 

A  fall  from  his  horse  made  the  Duke  return  to  England, 
and  in  his  thirty-second  year  he  obtained  his  peerage  and 
the  title  of  Duke  of  Kent,  with  £12,000  a  year  to  support 
the  dignity.  He  was  general  and  commander-in-chief 
in  Canada  again  until  1800,  when  ill-health  made  him 
return  home. 

But,  intent  upon  pursuing  his  militarj^  career,  he  under- 
took the  governorship  of  Gibraltar,  where  there  was  a  large 
garrison.  He  is  described  as  usually  rising  before  the 
sun,  abhorring  the  excesses  of  the  table,  sober  almost  to  a 
fault,  and  punctual  in  the  discharge  of  duties,  however 
numerous  and  exacting.  He  never  asked  for  anything  he 
was  not  ready  himself  to  do.  Yet  it  was  found  quite  im- 
possible for  the  soldiers  to  imitate  his  self-discipline. 

He  was  specially  particular  in  regard  to  dress  and  all 
the  minutiae  of  uniform.  No  one  was  allowed  to  wear  his 
hair  except  according  to  an  exact  pattern.  Incessant 
parades  and  very  strict  punishment  made  his  friends  in 
vain  give  him  hints  that  the  discipline  was  too  rigid.  He 
had  much  to  say  on  his  side  why  soldiers  should  be  thor- 
oughly brought  under  control.  They  were  slovenl}^  and 
insubordinate,  the  people  had  complained  frequently  of 
the  conduct  of  members  of  the  garrison,  and  intoxication 
had  been  only  too  common. 

The  Duke  shut  up  the  wine  houses,  confined  the  troops 
to  barracks,  and  insisted  upon  reports  being  made  in  all 
cases  of  inebriety.  At  the  end  of  twelve  months  of  this 
vigorous  action  a  conspiracy  was  fortunately  discovered 
just  in  time  to  prevent  the  assassination  of  the  command- 
ing officer. 

The  feeling  among  the  troops  was  so  hostile  to  him 
that  it  was  considered  better  to  have  a  change,  and  he  re- 
turned to  England  in  1803.  Certain  it  is  that,  with  merits 
superior  to  his  brothers,  he  was  kept  \vithout  his  peerage 
longer  than  any  of  them;  he  was  kept  away  from  home, 

12 


KARLY    l^AYS 

and  the  help  given  to  others  of  the  family  who  were  in 
debt  was  denied  to  him. 

In  order  to  economize,  he  settled  at  Brussels  in  1816, 
and  it  was  from  that  city  that  he  made  an  excursion 
into  Germany,  and  met  Princess  Victoire  Marie  Louise, 
youngest  daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Saxe-Coburg.  She 
had  married  Prince  Charles  of  Leiningen,  a  man  greatly 
her  senior,  who  on  his  death  had  appointed  his  widow 
regent  of  his  principality.  When  the  death  of  the  Princess 
Charlotte  in  England  made  it  necessary  for  the  Duke  of 
Kent  to  think  of  marriage,  he  turned  to  the  Princess  of 
Leiningen,  and  they  were  married  at  Coburg  in  May, 
181 8.  After  complying  with  the  conditions  of  the  royal 
marriage  act,  they  lived  at  Amorbach,  not  far  from  Heidel- 
berg, and,  desiring  that  the  child  of  their  marriage  might 
be  born  in  England,  came  to  London  two  months  before 
that  event,  lack  of  means  preventing  an  earlier  journey. 
The  Duke  of  Kent  drove  the  carriage  himself  the  whole 
way  through  Germany  to  the  coast,  and  after  the  arrival 
in  England  he  again  took  the  reins. 

He  continued  the  same  exact  life  in  England.  The 
Duke  rose  verj?^  early,  and  it  was  said  that  one  servant 
had  to  remain  up  in  order  to  call  him  in  the  morning,  not 
being  allowed  to  go  to  bed  until  he  had  lit  an  early  fire 
in  the  dressing-room.  At  six  o'clock  a  cup  of  coffee  was 
brought  by  one  man,  and  another  removed  the  tray.  This 
was  according  to  a  system  which  obliged  all  the  servants 
to  make  their  appearance  in  turn. 

A  bill  of  the  expenses  of  the  previous  day  was  next 
brought  by  the  house  steward,  all  items  being  carefully 
classed.  All  the  bills  were  numbered.  Attention,  clean- 
liness, and  smartness  were  insisted  on.  So  as  to  give 
separate  signals  to  the  five  persons  who  were  regularly  in 
attendance,  there  were  five  bells,  each  for  a  separate  person. 
Mr.  Canning  is  said  to  have  liked  this  arrangement  so 
much  that  the  Kensington  Palace  bell  system  was  copied 
at  the  Treasury. 

The  Duke  was  fond  of  having  many  clocks  with  musical 

13 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

chimes,  so  that  one  might  be  audible  in  every  apartment. 
He  was  always  active  in  charitable  work,  scarcely  ever 
refusing  to  help  any  well-known  and  established  institu- 
tion, although  himself  frequently  pressed  for  money. 

One  of  the  doctors  who  attended  him  said  that  his  last 
words  to  his  wife  were :    "  Act  uprightly,  and  trust  in  God." 

There  was  nothing  in  the  state  of  the  country  to  make 
the  parents  of  the  expected  child  do  anything  but  rejoice 
at  the  great  prospects  which  might  open  to  their  offspring. 
The  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Kent  came  at  a  time  of  the  year 
when  London  was  looking  its  best,  when  the  parks  were 
full  of  well-equipped  carriages  with  horses  coveted  and 
bought  by  all  the  world.  Much  attention  had  already 
been  given  to  those  which  had  to  work  in  harness  as  well 
as  to  the  racers  and  the  hacks,  which  were  acknowdedged 
to  be  the  best  in  the  world. 

The  beautiful  alleys  of  Kensington  Gardens  were  get- 
ting into  leaf.  The  white  blossoms  of  the  chestnuts  and 
the  red  and  white  of  the  may  were  only  just  coming  into 
bloom,  and  the  wonderful  greenness  so  characteristic  of 
England  was  already  mantling  the  country.  The  pleas- 
ant apartments,  looking  on  the  one  side  to  the  High  Street 
of  Kensington,  which  then  was  bordered  by  houses  not 
built  so  high  as  to  overlook  the  gardens,  had  been  arranged 
for  the  Duke  and  Duchess.  The  set  of  these  rooms  swept 
round  to  the  eastw^ard,  w^here  another  private  garden  looked 
towards  the  Round  Pond  and  Hyde  Park. 

It  was  in  one  of  these  that  the  Duchess  took  up  her  abode, 
and  it  w^as  here  that  Princess  Victoria  was  born.  All  the 
old  palace  was  full  of  historical  memories.  The  higher 
main  block  of  buildings,  with  brick  pilasters  and  crowned 
by  the  great  decorated  vases  in  the  centre  of  the  south 
front,  had  been  completed  by  William  the  Third  after  the 
melancholy  death  of  his  wife,  who  died  of  small-pox  in  a 
room  facing  the  main  court.  You  may  read  the  date  of 
this  building  from  the  stamp  on  the  leaden  water-pipes. 
Formerly  it  was  the  custom  to  stamp  w^ith  initials  not  only 
one's  water-pipes,  but  even  one's  wine  bottles.    Each  bottle 

14 


EARLY    DAYS 

was  stamped  on  the  shoulder,  and  each  water-pipe  was 
stamped  in  every  joint  with  the  initials  of  the  person  to 
whom  the  house  belonged.  Double  "R's,"  standing  for 
Rex  and  Regina,  with  the  "  M  "  of  Mary  and  the  "  W  "  of 
William  between  them,  formed  a  cipher,  like  two  joints  of 
one  of  the  sliding  folding-gates  which  nowadays  bar  the 
access  to  lifts  in  houses.  Thus,  if  these  evidences  have 
been  allowed  to  remain  on  any  buildings,  you  may  tell  the 
age  of  the  wall  by  the  plumber's  work  upon  it. 

Stretching  above  the  southern  rooms  which  the  Duke 
and  Duchess  occupied  was  the  great  gallery  called  the 
King's,  where  King  William  III.,  after  his  return  from 
Hampton  Court,  where  he  had  been  hurt  by  the  fall  of  his 
horse,  had  thought  himself  suflQciently  recovered  to  take 
a  walk  on  the  arm  of  his  physician.  It  was  there  that  a 
sudden  shivering  attacked  him,  and  from  thence  he  retired 
to  the  bed  which  he  was  never  more  to  leave  alive.  It  was 
in  a  room  at  the  head  of  the  open  staircase,  w'hich  was 
afterwards  replaced  by  a  marble  one,  that  the  Jacobite 
members  of  the  Privy  Council  had  assembled  when  Queen 
Anne  was  dying — in  one  of  the  rooms  in  which  the  Queen's 
toys  are  now  exhibited — with  the  intention  of  proclaiming 
Queen  Anne's  brother,  known  to  his  Protestant  adver- 
saries as  the  Old  Pretender,  as  Charles  III.  It  was  there 
that  this  Jacobite  cabal  had  been  surprised  bj^  seeing  the 
doors  suddenly  thrown  open  and  the  figures  of  the  Whig 
Dukes  of  Argyll  and  Somerset  appearing  uninvited  to 
take  their  places  at  the  table  and  to  thwart  their  intentions. 
Thackeray,  who  long  afterwards  lived  in  a  house  near 
the  present  barracks,  tells  how  these  dukes  foiled  the  con- 
spiracy which  had  been  carefully  matured.  The  Jaco- 
bites had  gone  so  far  as  to  bring  the  Pretender  over  to  Lon- 
don, and  arranged  an  interview  for  him  with  the  Queen 
in  the  grounds  of  the  palace.  Certain  it  is  that  she  was 
seated  in  these  grounds  and  gardens  in  front  of  the  old 
Orangery,  recently  restored,  when  the  Duke  of  Hamilton 
brought  to  her  the  agreement  which  consummated  the 
legislative  union  between  England  and  Scotland.     The 

15 


VICTORIA  R.  I.  HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

palace  had  been  built  hastily  in  King  William's  time  be- 
fore his  return  from  Ireland.  The  somewhat  heavy  panel- 
ling and  cornices — to  be  seen  also  in  Castle  Howard — may 
be  witnessed  even  now  as  William  and  Anne  saw  them 
executed  entirely  in  oak.  The  woodwork  is  the  best  thing 
in  the  house,  but  the  material  of  the  yellow  bricks  was 
poor  and  not  calculated  to  stand,  while  the  cornice  and  all 
the  parts  finished  in  superior  red  brick  have  until  the  pres- 
ent day  well  withstood  the  effects  of  the  ever-increasing 
murkiness  of  the  London  air.  The  chimney-pieces  are 
almost  all  of  marble,  with  a  great  bevelled  moulding,  but 
with  no  marble  shelf.  They  are  surmounted  by  oak  pan- 
elling, on  which  hung  pictures,  a  line  collection  of  which 
filled  the  rooms. 

The  whole  of  the  space  to  the  south  down  to  Kensington 
High  Street  on  the  one  side,  and  to  the  east  up  to  the 
Orangery,  was  taken  up  by  carefully  planted  flower-beds 
arranged  in  symmetrical  pattern.  The  old  black  and 
white  marble  pavement  had  long  disappeared  from  before 
the  Duchess  of  Kent's  rooms,  gravel  and  sward  taking 
its  place.  The  love  of  the  royal  family  for  the  place  had 
continued  after  the  law  of  the  Protestant  Succession  had 
given  the  throne  to  George  I.  It  was  from  here  that  his  son 
started  out  to  take  part  in  the  campaign,  the  last  in  which 
an  English  monarch  appeared  personally  in  the  field, 
which  was  distinguished  by  the  bloody  battle  of  Detting- 
en.  He  shared  his  father's  liking  for  Kensington,  and 
added  considerably  to  the  comfort  of  its  apartments.  The 
range  of  rooms  that  the  former  sovereigns  had  inhabited 
included  the  long  ballroom,  w4th  its  coved  ceiling,  still 
known  as  the  Queen's  Wing,  and  at  the  far  end  of  this 
long  apartment,  then  lit  by  a  double  row  of  windows,  was 
a  wonderful  and  gigantic  musical  box.  The  great  brass 
rollers,  studded  with  pins  to  give  forth  the  tunes  for  this 
complicated  piece  of  machinery,  were  arranged  in  orna- 
mental cabinets  between  the  windows  throughout  the  east- 
ern side  of  the  room.  In  the  smaller  rooms  Frederick, 
Prince  oi  Wales,  had  his  little  dinners  and  suppers,  and  a 

i6 


EARLY    DAYS 

picture  hangs  in  one  of  them  depicting  such  a  scene.  One 
of  the  guests  is  pouring  wine  from  one  glass  into  an- 
other, the  lower  being  held  at  a  great  distance  from  the 
upper  in  the  manner  of  an  American  bartender  compos- 
ing a  "cocktail." 

George  II.  died  here,  and  it  was  to  the  good  taste  of  his 
Queen  that  we  owe  the  existence  of  the  Round  Pond. 
George  III.  did  not  care  to  live  so  far  from  town,  nor  did 
his  successors,  and  the  state  rooms  had  until  recently 
been  allowed  to  moulder  into  decay.  The  last  time  that 
there  was  any  considerable  number  of  people  inhabiting 
the  old  palace  was  on  the  occasion  of  the  great  Exhibi- 
tion of  1851,  when  a  large  body  of  troops  were  quartered 
within  the  precincts. 

In  George  II. 's  time  the  surroundings  of  the  palace 
were  kept  private,  and  the  King  is  said  to  have  been  robbed 
by  a  footpad.  When  he  was  taking  a  walk  near  the  palace, 
a  man  suddenly  appeared  from  over  the  wall  which  then 
bounded  not  only  the  west  side,  but  was  continued  along 
the  High  Street,  where  opposite  to  the  centre  of  the  palace 
a  large  stone  alcove,  now^  removed  to  the  Serpentine,  for- 
merty  stood.  The  robber  is  reported  to  have  been  polite 
enough  to  apologize  for  finding  the  King  alone,  and  for 
his  own  necessities,  which  obliged  him  to  ask  his  sovereign 
to  give  up  the  watch  he  wore,  as  well  as  the  silver  shoe- 
buckles  ornamenting  his  "pumps." 

It  was  on  April  15,  181 9,  that  the  Duke  and  Duchess 
of  Kent  arrived  in  England  from  Germany  and  took  up 
their  abode  at  Kensington  Palace,  where,  on  May  24th, 
the  Duchess  gave  birth  to  a  girl. 

The  christening  was  the  occasion  of  a  large  gathering 
a  month  later.  The  beautiful  gold  font  was  placed  on  a 
table  in  the  Grand  Saloon.  The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
officiated  with  the  Bishop  of  London.  Alexandrina  Vic- 
toria were  the  names  given,  but  they  were  too  long  to  be 
commonly  used,  and  the  second  of  these  was  that  chosen. 
Familiar  as  the  word  is  now  to  us,  it  seemed  at  that  time 
to  be  long  and  fanciful  when  men's  ears  had  become  ac- 

B  jy 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

customed  to  the  Georges  and  the  Charlottes.  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  who  saw  the  child  and  her  mother,  wTote  that  he 
hoped  the  name  would  be  changed — a  wish  that  none  of 
us  nowadays  would  repeat. 

The  sponsors  were  the  Prince  Regent;  the  Emperor 
Alexander,  represented  by  the  Duke  of  York;  the  Queen 
Dow^ager  of  Wurtemberg,  represented  by  Princess  Augusta ; 
and  the  Duchess  Dowager  of  Coburg,  represented  by  the 
Duchess  of  Gloucester.  The  Prince  Regent  and  all  the 
royal  family  w^ere  present  either  at  the  service  or  after- 
wards at  the  dinner  given  by  the  Duke  of  Kent.  All 
day  long  carriages  thundered  under  the  old  archway  sur- 
mounted by  the  ciphered  wind-vane  put  up  by  William 
and  Mary;  or,  if  they  had  no  pass  for  the  court-yard, 
discharged  their  passengers  at  a  door  situated  near  the 
present  w^hite  colonnade,  which  brought  them  through  the 
long  corridor  to  the  black  and  white  marble  hall  and  stair- 
case leading  to  the  great  reception-rooms. 

The  royal  baby  was  duly  vaccinated,  proving  that 
Jenner's  great  discovery  had  received  the  full  confidence 
of  the  public. 

The  Princess  began  her  military  experience  at  the  age 
of  four  months,  when  she  was  taken  to  a  review'  at  Houns- 
low  Heath  in  her  father's  carriage.  That  same  autumn 
witnessed  the  birth  of  her  future  husband.  Prince  Albert, 
who  was  born  at  Rosenau  on  August  26  th.  Bishop  Fulford, 
of  Montreal,  in  Canada,  speaking  long  afterwards,  said 
he  remembered  walking  at  Kensington  in  that  year,  and 
his  appearance  must  have  inspired  the  confidence  of  the 
baby's  nurse,  for  he  was  allowed  to  stop  her  in  order  to 
have  a  look  at  the  baby  in  her  arms.  And  the  next  year 
Mr.  Wilberforce,  the  famous  abolitionist,  and  father  of 
the  eloquent  Samuel,  Bishop  of  Oxford  and  Winchester, 
says  that  in  consequence  of  a  very  civil  message  from  the 
Duchess  of  Kent  he  waited  on  her  in  the  morning.  She 
received  him  with  her  fine  animated  child  on  the  floor  by 
her  side  with  its  playthings,  of  which,  he  declares,  he 
soon  became  one. 

18 


EARLY    DAYS 

In  the  autumn  the  Duke  and  Duchess  took  the  baby  to 
Sidmouth.  "  Two  or  three  evenings  before,"  wrote  one 
of  the  Duke's  friends,  "  I  was  at  Kensington  Palace,  and 
on  my  rising  to  take  leave,  the  Duke  intimated  his  wish 
that  I  should  see  the  infant  Princess  in  her  crib,  adding, 
'As  it  may  be  some  time  before  we  meet  again,  I  should 
like  you  to  see  the  child  and  give  her  your  blessing/  The 
Duke  preceded  me  into  the  little  Princess's  room,  and  on 
my  closing  a  short  prayer  that  as  she  grew  in  years  she 
might  grow  in  grace  and  in  favor  both  with  God  and  man, 
he  responded  in  an  emphatic  Amen.  Then  he  continued, 
'Don't  pray  simply  that  hers  may  be  a  brilliant  career, 
and  exempt  from  those  trials  and  struggles  which  have 
pursued  her  father,  but  pray  that  God's  blessing  may 
rest  on  her,  that  it  may  overshadow  her,  and  that  in  all 
her  coming  years  she  may  be  guided  and  guarded  by 
God.'"  The  Duke  and  Duchess  were  delighted  with  the 
picturesque  scenery  of  their  Devonshire  abode.  The 
place  that  they  lived  at  was  called  Woolbrook  Cottage, 
and  here  the  first  peril  in  Princess  Victoria's  life  came 
to  her  from  a  mischievous  boy,  who  was  sparrow-shooting 
outside  the  windows,  and  who  accidentally  fired  into  the 
nursery,  some  of  the  shot  passing  within  a  few  inches  of 
the  child's  head. 

The  Duke  of  Kent  wrote :  "  My  little  girl  thrives  under 
the  influence  of  a  Devonshire  climate,  and  is,  I  am  delighted 
to  say,  strong  and  healthy;  too  healthy,  I  fear,  in  the 
opinion  of  some  members  of  my  family,  by  whom  she  is 
regarded  as  an  intruder.  How  largely  she  contributes 
to  my  happiness  at  this  moment  it  is  needless  for  me  to 
say  to  you,  who  are  in  such  full  possession  of  my  feelings 
on  this  subi'ect."  He  had  been  determined  that  the  child 
should  if  possible  be  born  in  England.  He  had  wished 
that  the  child  should  be  as  British  in  feeling  as  was  his 
revered  father,  George  III. 

The  Duchess  was  at  this  time  described  as  fresh  and 
youthful  in  appearance,  with  fine  brown  eyes  and  hair, 
naturally    cheerful    and    friendly,    and    altogether    most 

19 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

charming  and  attractive.  She  was  fond  of  dress,  and 
dressed  well  and  with  good  taste.  Nature  had  endowed 
her  with  wann  feelings,  and  she  was  naturally,  therefore, 
affectionate  and  unselfish,  and  full  of  sympathy  and 
generous.  A  terrible  blow — the  loss  of  her  husband — 
came  upon  her  soon  afterwards.  Delighting  in  exercise, 
and  too  full  of  health  to  be  careful  about  himself,  the  Duke 
had  one  day  come  home  in  Januarj^  and  had  neglected  to 
change  his  boots.  A  cold  resulted,  developing  into  in- 
flammation of  the  lungs,  and  he  died  on  Sundaj^  January 
23,  1820.  For  five  nights  the  Duchess  had  remained  by 
his  bedside.     He  was  only  53  years  of  age. 

Croker  writes  to  Lord  Lowther  on  January  24,  1820: 
"You  will  be  surprised  at  the  Duke  of  Kent's  death.  He 
was  the  strongest  of  the  strong.  Never  before  ill  in  all 
his  life,  and  now  to  die  of  a  cold  when  half  the  kingdom 
have  colds  with  impunity.  It  was  very  bad  luck  indeed. 
It  reminds  me  of  ^sop's  fable  of  the  oak  and  the  reed." 

A  few  days  after  the  Duke's  death  the  wadow  left  Sid- 
mouth  and  set  out  for  London,  accompanied  by  her  brother 
and  the  baby  Princess,  who,  "  being  held  up  at  the  carriage 
window  to  bid  the  assembled  population  of  Sidmouth 
farewell,  sported  and  laughed  joyously,  and  patted  the 
glasses  with  her  pretty  dimpled  hands  in  happy  luicon- 
sciousness  of  her  melancholy  bereavement."  After  their 
return  to  London  the  Duchess  of  Clarence,  afterwards 
Queen  Adelaide,  took  a  great  interest  in  the  little  child. 

Naturally  enough  there  was  much  correspondence  be- 
tween the  Coburg  family  and  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  the 
presence  of  the  two  little  children  so  nearly  of  the  same 
age  being  an  obvious  subject  for  letter- writing.  From 
the  very  earliest  days  hopes  were  entertained  that  a  match 
might  some  day  result  between  Princess  Victoria  and 
Prince  Albert.  About  this  period  the  Dowager  Duchess 
of  Coburg  wrote  in  one  of  her  letters,  "  The  little  fellow  is 
the  pendant  to  the  pretty  cousin  " — referring  to  the  Princess 
Victoria. 

The  Queen  used  to  say  that  her  earliest  recollection 

20 


EARLY    DAYS 

was  that  of  crawling  on  the  floor  upon  an  old  yellow  carpet 
at  Kensington  Palace,  and  playing  with  the  badge  of  the 
Garter  belonging  to  Bishop  Fisher  of  Salisbury,  who, 
having  formerly  been  tutor  to  her  father,  naturall}'^  took 
a  very  deep  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  child. 

For  the  first  few  years  of  her  life  the  health  and  physical 
development  of  the  little  Princess  were  most  closelj^  watched 
over  by  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  who  proved  herself  in  all 
ways  a  most  exemplary  and  devoted  mother. 

Whenever  the  weather  permitted,  the  little  child  was 
to  be  seen  in  the  gardens  at  Kensington  Palace  in  charge 
of  her  nurse,  Mrs.  Brock,  and  usually  accompanied  by 
her  half-sister,  the  Princess  Feodore. 

The  family  life  at  the  palace  was  simple  and  regular 
in  the  extreme.  Early  strollers  in  the  gardens  during 
the  summer  often  saw  breakfast  served  at  eight  o'clock 
in  the  open  air,  a  practice  to  which  Queen  Victoria  in  later 
years  adhered  whenever  possible.  The  little  Princess 
usually  breakfasted  on  bread  and  milk  and  fruit  at  a 
small  table  by  her  mother's  side. 

After  breakfast  the  Princess  Feodore  studied  with  her 
governess.  Miss  Lehzen,  during  which  time  the  Princess 
Victoria  went  out  for  a  walk  or  drive.  At  two  o'clock 
the  children  had  their  plain  dinner  while  the  Duchess  had 
her  luncheon,  and  in  the  afternoon  came  the  usual  walk 
or  drive.  In  the  evening,  when  the  Duchess  dined,  the 
Princess  had  her  supper  laid  at  her  side. 

At  nine  o'clock  the  child  was  accustomed  to  retire  to  her 
bed,  whiclv  was  placed  close  to  her  mother's.  In  fact, 
until  the  time  of  her  accession  to  the  throne.  Princess 
Victoria  never  spent  a  single  night  away  from  her  mother. 

The  following  anecdotes  refer  to  these  early  days  of 
childhood,  though  in  the  case  of  some  of  them  it  is  not 
now  possible  to  tell  the  precise  year.  Some  of  these  stories 
afterwards  received  confinnation  from  her  Majesty",  but 
others  rest  upon  the  memory  of  persons  who  were  brought 
into  contact  with  her : 

When  a  very  small  child  the  Princess  was  taken  up  in 

21 


VICTORIA  R.  I.   HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

his  arms  b}'  a  bishop,  whom  she  sadh^  discomfited  by 
capturing  his  wig,  tearing  tufts  of  hairs  out  of  it,  and 
smothering  him  with  the  powder. 

She  used  to  ride  about  Kensington  on  a  donkey,  led  by 
an  old  soldier  who  was  a  great  favorite  of  hers.  So  great, 
in  fact,  was  his  influence  over  the  little  Princess — who 
early  gave  evidence  that  she  possessed  a  strong  will  of 
her  own — that  he  could  usually  persuade  her  to  dismount 
and  walk  when  every  one  else  failed. 

The  story  has  often  been  repeated  that,  when  not  quite 
two  years  old,  she  was  nearly  killed  by  the  upsetting  of  a 
pony  carriage  in  which  she  was  riding,  and  that  an  old 
soldier  named  Maloney  caught  her  before  she  reached 
the  ground  and  restored  her  to  the  lady-in-waiting.  He 
is  said  to  have  been  suitably  rewarded  at  the  time,  and  in 
later  days  the  Queen,  hearing  that  he  was  in  great  poverty, 
granted  him  generous  assistance,  though  she  was  never 
able  to  remember  the  supposed  accident,  and  always 
thought  the  account  must  have  been  greatly  exaggerated. 

When  she  commenced  lessons  we  are  told  that  she  one 
day  inquired,  "Why  should  I  learn  the  alphabet?"  But 
upon  being  showTi  some  books,  and  being  told  that  with- 
out the  alphabet  she  would  never  be  able  to  read  them, 
she  eagerly  exclaimed,  "I  learn  too!     I  learn  too!" 

A  description  of  the  little  Princess  at  this  time  says  that 
"  her  large  blue  eyes,  beautiful  bloom,  and  fair  complexion 
made  her  a  model  of  infantile  beauty." 

Miss  Martineau  records  that  "the  Princess  was  reared 
in  as  much  honesty  and  care  about  money  matters  as  any 
citizen's  child." 

Princess  Victoria  was  provided  with  a  small  amount  of 
pocket-money,  and  was  not  permitted  on  any  account  to 
exceed  it.  One  da}'-,  when  staying  at  Tunbridge  Wells, 
she  visited  a  shop  and  spent  all  her  supply  of  ready  money 
on  presents  for  some  of  her  friends.  She  then  remembered 
that  one  of  her  cousins  had  been  forgotten,  and  she  chose 
a  fancy  box  priced  at  2s.  6d.,  but  her  purse  was  empty. 
Of  course  the  shopman  proposed  to  enclose  the  box  in  the 

22 


EARLY   DAYS 

parcel  without  payment,  but  the  watchful  governess  im- 
mediately interposed.  "No,"  she  said;  "3^ou  see  the 
Princess  has  not  the  money,  and  so,  of  course,  she  cannot 
buy  the  box."  The  shopkeeper  then  offered  to  reserve 
the  article  until  such  time  as  it  could  be  purchased.  This 
was  done,  and  when  the  next  supply  of  pocket-money 
became  due.  Princess  Victoria  mounted  her  donkey,  and 
was  at  the  shop  to  buy  the  box  by  seven  o'clock  in  the 
morning. 

In  later  life  Queen  Victoria  showed  her  own  approval 
of  such  a  system  of  home  discipline  by  bringing  up  her 
children  with  all  possible  simplicity  and  freedom  from 
extravagance.  She  often  spoke  of  the  dangers  of  children 
in  high  stations. 

One  day  she  was  playing  in  the  hay-field,  and  was  making 
a  hay-cock,  when  some  fresh  object  of  interest  diverted 
her  attention.  She  threw  down  the  rake,  and  was  run- 
ning off,  when  the  governess  stopped  her.  "  No,  no.  Prin- 
cess, you  must  always  finish  what  you  have  commenced," 
she  said;  and  the  little  lady  had  to  finish  her  hay-cock 
before  she  was  permitted  to  go. 

These  little  details  serve  to  indicate  the  thoroughness 
of  her  home  training,  and  if  they  seem  to  us  a  trifle  over- 
strict,  they  at  any  rate  bore  good  fruit  in  the  methodical 
business  habits  which  always  characterized  Queen  Vic- 
toria. 

Leigh  Hunt,  in  his  own  delightful  fashion,  gossips 
about  her  in  his  well-known  book,  called  "  The  Old  Court 
Suburb  " : 

"  We  remember  well  the  peculiar  pleasure  which  it  gave 
us  to  see  the  future  Queen — the  first  time  we  ever  did  see 
her — coming  up  across  the  park  from  the  Bayswater 
Gate,  with  a  girl  of  her  own  age  by  her  side,  whose  hands 
she  was  holding  as  if  she  loved  her.  A  magnificent  foot- 
man in  scarlet  came  behind  her,  udth  the  splendidest  pair 
of  calves  in  white  stockings  which  we  ever  beheld. " 

The  little  Princess  is  said  to  have  early  exhibited  con- 
siderable wit,  in  illustration  of  which  the  following  story 

23 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

has  often  been  told.  One  day  the  lesson  in  Roman  history 
told  how  Cornelia,  the  mother  of  the  Gracchi,  spoke  of  her 
sons  as  "My  jewels."  The  Princess  remarked,  "She 
should  have  said  'My  Cornelians.'" 

,•  All  who  knew  Queen  Victoria  in  later  times  were  im- 
y  pressed  with  her  absolute  truthfulness.  Nothing  was  so 
foreign  to  her  nature  as  dissimulation  of  any  kind.  Even 
as  a  child  she  displayed  this  valuable  quality.  One  day 
she  had  been  rather  inattentive  during  school  hours,  and 
the  Duchess  of  Kent  happened  to  come  in,  and  inquired 
if  the  lessons  were  going  on  well.  The  governess  was 
obliged  to  reply,  "Oh,  once  she  was  rather  tiresome." 
The  truthful  little  Princess  gently  touched  her  ann  and 
said,  "No,  Lehzen;  twice.     Don't  you  remember?" 

Probably  wilfulness  was  the  child's  most  conspicuous 
fault.  One  day  the  music -master  was  compelled  to  re- 
monstrate with  her  and  said,  "There  is  no  royal  road  to 
music.  Princess;  you  must  practise  like  everybody  else." 
Whereupon  the  angry  little  lady  at  once  locked  the  piano, 
and,  putting  the  key  into  her  pocket,  retorted,  "There, 
now  I  you  see  there  is  no  '  must '  about  it  at  all. " 

The  Princess  was  so  extremely  fond  of  music  that  the 
Duchess  of  Kent,  in  order  to  give  her  pleasure,  sent  for 
an  infant  prodigy  of  the  time — a  child  about  five  j^^ears 
old,  called  Lyra — whose  performances  on  the  harp  had 
become  somewhat  famous.  While  this  young  musician 
was  playing,  the  Duchess,  seeing  the  Princess  absorbed 
in  the  music,  left  the  room  for  a  few  minutes.  On  her  re- 
turn she  found  the  harp  deserted.  The  lonely  little  heiress 
of  England,  who  so  rarely  played  with  a  child  of  her  own 
age,  had  beguiled  the  youthful  musician  from  her  instru- 
ment by  the  display  of  some  of  her  toys,  and  the  two  children 
were  seated  side  by  side  on  the  hearth-rug  in  a  state  of  high 
enjoyment,  surrounded  by  the  Princess's  playthings, 
from  which  she  was  making  a  selection  for  the  little 
Lyra. 

One  day  Queen  Victoria  was  paying  a  visit  to  Queen 
Adelaide,  and  was  asked  to  choose  what  would  be  the 

24 


PRINCESS    VICTORIA    AND    THE    CHILD    MUSICIAN 
(From  a  drawing  by  Alec  Ball) 


EARLY    DAYS 

greatest  treat  she  could  desire  for  her  day's  enjoyment. 
To  the  astonishment  of  the  good  Queen  she  eagerly  begged 
to  be  allowed  to  clean  the  windows  as  the  very  acme  of 
enjoyment  I 

The  Dowager  Queen's  residence,  as  a  widow,  was  at 
that  time  Marlborough  House,  and  the  dining-room  was  the 
same  as  that  now  used,  but  two  "corkscrew"  stairs  were 
awkwardly  situated  within  the  room,  and  led  up  to  the 
first  floor.  Whitewash  or  plaster  concealed  the  fine  paint- 
ings of  Marlborough's  battles  in  the  hall  and  on  the  stair- 
way walls,  and  it  was  not  until  the  house  was  prepared 
for  the  Prince  of  Wales  in  1850,  that  the  concealment  dis- 
appeared, and  the  paintings  were  cleaned  and  admired. 

On  another  occasion,  seeing  a  crowd  collected  round 
the  door  of  a  house  to  which  her  mother  had  taken  her  to 
pay  a  visit,  the  child,  accompanied  by  some  indiscreet 
attendant,  stole  out  by  a  side  door  and  mixed  with  the 
crowd,  listening  to  the  remarks  on  the  royal  equipage 
and  herself  with  evident  delight.  But  we  suspect  this 
must  have  been  at  a  rather  more  advanced  age. 

She  was  warned  one  day  on  no  account  to  play  with 
a  certain  dog  which  was  of  very  uncertain  temper,  but  she 
continued  to  do  so  until  the  animal  betrayed  himself  by 
a  sudden  snap.  "Oh,  thank  you,"  she  said;  "he  did  not 
bite  me;  he  only  warned  me." 

Needless  to  say,  such  escapades  got  the  little  Princess 
into  considerable  trouble  with  her  somewhat  strict  mother, 
whose  watchful  eye  was  quick  to  note  all  that  went  on. 

The  little  Princess  seems  earh^  to  have  displayed  some- 
thing of  that  tact  which  afterwards  so  greatly  distinguish- 
ed her.  She  was  present  at  a  children's  ball  given  by  the 
Duke  of  Gloucester,  and  noticed  her  uncle,  the  Duke  of 
Sussex,  taking  his  departure.  She  ran  after  him  and 
cried,  "Won't  you  give  me  a  kiss  before  you  go?"  When 
the  Duke  stooped  to  do  so  the  Princess  hvirriedly  whispered 
in  his  ear,  "You  have  forgotten  to  say  good-night  to 
mamma." 

Of  the  impression  made  by  the  Queen  in  these  early  years 

25 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

we  have  a  record  from  the  letters  of  Miss  Jane  Porter, 
author  of  The  Scottish  Chiefs  and  other  novels  popular 
many  years  ago.  This  lady  dwelt  with  her  mother  in  a 
cottage  near  Claremont,  and  often  saw  the  young  Princess, 
and  was  "  delighted  to  find  that  she  resembled  her  lamented 
aunt,  the  Princess  Charlotte.  She  was  a  beautiful  child, 
with  the  cherubic  form  of  features,  clustered  round  by 
glossy,  fair  ringlets.  Her  complexion  was  remarkably 
transparent,  with  a  soft  and  often  heightening  tinge  of 
the  sweet  blush  rose  upon  her  cheeks  that  imparted  a 
peculiar  brilliancy  to  her  clear  blue  eyes.  Whenever  she 
met  any  strangers  in  her  usual  paths  she  always  seemed 
by  the  quickness  of  her  glance  to  inquire  who  and  what 
they  were." 

Another  description  of  her  at  this  period  states:  "Her 
Royal  Highness  is  remarkably  beautiful,  and  her  gay  and 
animated  countenance  bespeaks  perfect  health  and  good 
temper.  Her  complexion  is  excessively  fair,  her  e^^es 
large  and  expressive,  and  her  cheeks  blooming.  She 
bears  a  very  striking  resemblance  to  her  late  royal  father, 
and  indeed  to  every  member  of  our  reigning  family." 

The  little  Princess  had  practically  no  playmates  of  her 
own  age,  and  in  later  years  she  spoke  of  her  childhood  as 
being  very  dull.  To  make  up  for  this  she  had  a  large  stock 
of  toys,  some  of  which  may  now  be  seen  in  Kensington 
Palace.  She  was  especially  fond  of  dolls,  of  which  she 
had  quite  an  extraordinary  number,  most  of  them  repre- 
senting historical  personages.  Many  have  been  given 
away,  but  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  still  remain  in 
the  royal  collection. 

We  might  give  many  illustrations  of  the  kindness  and 
sympathy  which  early  exhibited  themselves  in  Princess 
Victoria's  conduct.  We  are  told  that  when  her  uncle, 
the  Duke  of  York,  was  lying  in  liis  last  illness  his  little 
niece  visited  him  every  day,  bearing  with  her  own  hands 
a  bunch  of  flowers  as  a  reminder  that  he  was  thought 
about  and  sympathized  with. 

One  day  the  Princess  was  in  a  jeweller's  shop,  when 

26 


EARLY    DAYS 

she  saw  a  young  lady  customer  looking  at  some  gold 
chains.  The  one  the  girl  most  admired  was  evidently 
too  expensive,  and  with  obvious  regret  she  gave  it  up 
and  purchased  one  at  a  lower  price.  After  she  had  left 
the  shop,  the  Princess  purchased  the  more  expensive  chain 
and  directed  the  jeweller  to  enclose  it  with  the  chain  pur- 
chased by  the  young  lad3\  She  also  sent  a  note  stating 
her  high  approval  of  the  stranger's  evident  prudence  and 
self-denial. 

When  visiting  Plymouth,  the  Duchess  of  Kent  and  her 
little  daughter  paid  a  visit  to  the  house  of  Admiral  Ross, 
whose  eldest  daughter  was  ill  and  confined  to  her  room. 
After  luncheon  the  royal  ladies  went  up  to  the  invalid's 
room  to  talk  to  her.  Miss  Ross  at  once  rose  from  the  sofa 
to  get  a  chair  for  the  Princess,  but  was  stopped  by  the 
Duchess,  who  said,  "Pray  don't  rise.  Miss  Ross;  you  are 
ill;  Victoria  will  get  a  chair  for  herself."  And,  sitting 
down,  the  royal  ladies  chatted  with  her  for  some  time. 

The  Princess  was  five  years  old  when  she  paid  her  first 
visit  to  Ramsgate.  "  When  first  I  saw  the  pale  and  pretty 
daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Kent,"  says  a  writer  in  Fraser's 
Magazine,  "she  was  fatherless.  Her  fair,  light  fonn 
was  sporting  in  all  the  redolence  of  youth  and  health  on 
the  noble  sands  of  old  Ramsgate.  She  wore  a  plain  straw 
bonnet  \vith  a  white  ribbon  round  it,  and  as  pretty  a  pair 
of  shoes  on  as  pretty  a  pair  of  feet  as  I  ever  remember  to 
have  seen  from  China  to  Kamschatka.  She  was  allowed 
to  play  with  other  children,  and  used  to  have  many  donkey 
rides." 

When  about  five  years  old.  Princess  Victoria  began  to 
receive  regular  instruction.  The  Rev.  George  Davys, 
afterwards  Dean  of  Chester  and  Bishop  of  Peterborough, 
was  engaged  to  give  elementary  lessons.  The  Duchess, 
however,  very  wisely  insisted  that  the  child's  mind  should 
not  be  forced  in  any  way. 

About  the  same  time  Miss  Lehzen,  who  had  come  over 
to  England  with  the  Duchess  of  Kent  to  take  charge  of 
the  Princess   Feodore,   was   appointed  governess  to  the 

27 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

future  Queen.  She  was  devotedly  attached  to  her  young 
charge,  and  in  recognition  of  her  merits  King  George 
IV.,  shortly  before  his  death,  created  her  a  Baroness  of 
Hanover.  After  the  Queen's  accession  the  Baroness 
remained  with  her  till  her  marriage.  Two  years  later 
she  retired  to  Gennanj'^,  and  died  in  1870. 

During  1824  and  the  following  year  the  Duchess  of 
Kent  and  her  daughters  repeatedly  spent  considerable 
periods  of  their  time  at  Claremont,  where  she  was  the 
guest  of  her  brother.  Prince  Leopold.  The  Queen,  in 
later  years,  used  to  say  that  these  were  by  far  the  happiest 
days  of  her  childhood. 

Miss  Jane  Porter  mentions  the  following  interesting 
incident : 

"  One  day  at  Esher  Church,  my  attention  was  particular- 
ly attracted  to  the  Claremont  pew,  in  which  she  and  the 
Duchess  of  Kent  and  her  royal  uncle  sat.  The  pew  oc- 
cupies a  colonnaded  recess,  elevated  a  little  in  the  interior 
of  the  south  wall  of  the  church;  parallel  with  it  runs  a 
small  gallery  of  pews  from  one  of  which  (my  mother's), 
being  directly  opposite  to  the  royal  seat,  I  could  see  all  that 
passed.  I  should  not  voluntarily  have  so  employed  my- 
self at  church,  but  I  had  seen  a  wasp  skimming  backward 
and  forward  over  the  head  and  before  the  unveiled  summer- 
bonnet  of  the  little  Princess,  and  I  could  not  forbear  watch- 
ing the  dangerous  insect,  fearing  it  might  sting  her  face. 
She,  totally  unobserving  it,  had  meantime  fixed  her  eyes 
on  the  clergyman,  who  had  taken  his  place  in  the  pulpit 
to  preach  the  senuon,  and  she  never  withdrew  them  thence 
for  a  moment  during  his  whole  discourse. 

"Next  day  a  lady,  personally  intimate  at  Claremont, 
called  at  our  humble  little  abode,  and  I  remarked  to  her 
the  scene  I  had  witnessed  on  the  preceding  morning  at 
church,  wondering  what  could  possibly  have  engaged 
the  young  Princess's  attention  so  unrecedingly  to  the  face 
of  the  preacher,  a  person  totally  unknown  to  her,  and 
whose  countenance,  though  expressive  of  good  sense, 
was  wiry  and  rough-hewn  and  could  present  nothing  pleas- 

2^ 


EARLY    DAYS 

ing  enough  to  fix  the  eyes  of  a  child.  '  It  was  not  himself 
that  attracted  her  fixed  eyes/  replied  our  visitor,  'it  was 
the  sermon  he  was  preaching.  For  it  is  a  custom  with 
her  illustrious  instructress  to  inquire  of  Princess  Victoria 
not  only  the  text  of  the  discourse,  but  also  the  heads  of 
its  leading  subjects.  Hence  she  neither  saw  the  wasp 
when  in  front  of  her  nor  heard  the  whisking  of  her  uncle's 
protective  handkerchief  behind  her.  Her  whole  mind 
was  bound  up  in  her  task — a  rare  faculty  of  concentration 
in  any  individual,  and  therefore  more  wonderful  in  one 
hardly  beyond  infancy — and  with  a  most  surprising  un- 
derstanding of  the  subjects,  she  never  fails  performing 
her  task  in  a  manner  that  might  grace  much  older  years.'  " 

In  the  year  1826  Princess  Victoria  received  for  the  first 
time  an  invitation  from  the  King  to  accompany  the  Duchess 
of  Kent  on  a  visit  to  him  at  Windsor.  The  castle  had  for 
many  years  been  in  an  extremely  neglected  state,  and  was 
only  now  undergoing  necessary  repairs.  The  King  was 
living  in  the  royal  lodge  in  the  park,  and  as  there  was  no 
accommodation  for  visitors,  the  Duchess  and  the  young 
Princess  stayed  at  Cumberland  Lodge,  w^here  they  remain- 
ed for  three  days.  The  King  was  greatly  pleased  wath 
his  little  niece  and  with  the  affection  she  exhibited  tow  ards 
him. 

One  day  during  this  visit  the  King  entered  the  drawing- 
room,  leading  his  niece  by  the  hand.  "Now,  Victoria," 
said  his  Majesty,  "  the  band  is  in  the  next  room  and  shall 
play  any  tune  you  please.  What  shall  it  be?"  The 
quick-witted  little  Princess  instantly  replied,  "  Oh,  Uncle 
King,  I  should  like  'God  Save  the  King.'"  At  the  end 
of  her  visit  he  asked  her  what  she  had  enjoyed  most  during 
her  stay  at  Windsor.  "  The  drive  I  took  with  you.  Uncle 
King,"  was  the  answer. 

This  was  the  first  time  that  Princess  Victoria  saw  the 
historic  home  which  was  to  be  associated  for  so  many 
years  with  the  life  and  reign  of  England's  greatest 
sovereign. 

In  the  autumn  of  this  year  some  time  w^as    spent  at 

29 


VICTORIA  R.  I.  HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

Virginia  Water,  to  which  the  following  reference  is  made 
in  a  letter  from  the  Dowager  Duchess  of  Coburg  to  the 
Duchess  of  Kent : 

"  I  see  by  the  English  newspapers  that  his  Majesty  and 
her  Royal  Highness  the  Duchess  of  Kent  went  on  Vir- 
ginia Water.  The  little  monkey  (Princess  Victoria)  must 
have  pleased  and  amused  him ;  she  is  such  a  pretty,  clever 
child.  The  bigger  monkey  (Princess  Feodore)  was  al- 
ways much  in  favor." 

About  this  period  the  little  Princess  was  going  on  a 
special  visit  to  the  King,  w^hen  she  turned  to  the  Duchess 
of  Kent  and  asked,  "  Oh,  mamma,  shall  I  go  on  my  don- 
key?" Her  donkey  had  been  the  present  of  her  uncle, 
the  Duke  of  York,  and  was  regarded  by  the  child  as  her 
greatest  treasure.  The  King  had  never  seen  it,  and  she 
had  the  idea  that  to  take  her  donkey  with  her  would  be 
the  greatest  compliment  she  could  pay  him. 

The  following  little  incident  may  seem  trivial,  but  it 

serves  to  illustrate  her  early  thoughtfulness  for  others. 

y^  She  slipped  one  day  and  fell,  while  out  with  her  mother, 

'  and  her  first  words  on  being  picked  up  were,  "  Does  mamma 

know  that  I  am  not  hurt?" 

We  have  already  referred  to  the  fact  that  Princess  Vic- 
"  toria  possessed  a  very  strong  will  of  her  own,  though  she 
was  early  taught  that  she  must  keep  it  in  check.  It  is 
related  that  on  one  occasion  when  she  was  slightly  unwell 
she  refused  to  take  her  medicine.  When  the  physician 
called  again,  this  was  mentioned  to  him,  and  he  gravely 
said,  "As  that  is  the  case,  I  must  discontinue  my  visits, 
as  they  are  altogether  useless  unless  her  Royal  Highness 
will  confonn  to  my  rules  as  to  her  health."  The  Princess 
was  fond  of  the  doctor,  and  when  he  rose  to  go  she  begged 
him  most  earnestly  to  return,  saying,  "Do,  pray,  doctor, 
come  and  see  me  again;  indeed,  I  will  take  my  medicine 
properly  in  future." 

Here  is  another  story  showing  the  kindliness  of  her 
disposition.  The  doctor  was  attending  her  for  a  severe 
cold  at  a  time  when  his  own  boy  was  recovering  from  an 

30 


EARLY    DAYS 

illness.  Some  cakes  were  in  the  room,  and  the  doctor 
noticed  that  his  patient's  eyes  often  glanced  wistfully  at 
them.  So  he  thought  it  well  to  remark,  "Your  Royal 
Highness  is  not  yet  well  enough  to  eat  anything  in  that 
tempting  basket,  but  in  a  little  time  I  hope  it  will  be  other- 
wise." The  Princess  instantly  turned  from  the  sugared 
pile,  and  with  a  gentle  smile  said  to  the  doctor,  "  But  your 
little  boy,  though  he  has  been  as  unwell  as  I  am,  is  now 
better,  and  these  can  do  him  no  harm ;  I  beg  you  therefore 
to  take  them  to  him." 

Looking  out  of  a  window  at  Kensington  Palace  one  very 
wet  day,  her  quick  eyes  noticed  an  old  man  standing  under 
one  of  the  trees  for  shelter.  He  was  evidently  soaked 
with  the  rain,  and  the  little  Princess  called  to  an  attendant 
in  the  room,  "Run  to  that  poor  man  with  an  umbrella; 
he  is  very  old  and  will  catch  cold." 

Lord  Albemarle,  in  his  autobiography,  tells  how  at 
this  period  he  was  in  attendance  on  the  Duke  of  Sussex 
at  Kensington  Palace,  and  thus  describes  the  appearance 
of  the  Princess  at  the  time: 

"One  of  my  occupations  on  a  morning,  while  waiting 
for  the  Duke,  was  to  watch  from  the  window  the  move- 
ments of  a  bright,  pretty  httle  girl  of  seven  years  of  age. 
She  was  in  the  habit  of  watering  the  plants  immediately 
under  the  window.  It  was  amusing  to  see  how  impartially 
she  divided  the  contents  of  the  water-pot  between  the 
flowers  and  her  own  little  feet.  Her  simple  but  becoming 
dress  contrasted  favorably  with  the  gorgeous  apparel 
now  worn  by  the  little  damsels  of  the  rising  generation — 
a  large  straw  hat  and  a  suit  of  white  cotton;  a  colored 
fichu  round  the  neck  was  the  only  ornament  she  wore." 

The  little  Princess  was  again  a  guest  at  the  royal  lodge 
in  Windsor  Park  in  1827,  when  the  King  presented  her 
with  a  badge  worn  only  by  members  of  the  royal  family. 
This  badge  she  carefully  treasured  to  the  end  of  her  life. 

About  the  same  period  she  went  to  a  state  dinner  at 
Carlton  House,  but  was  only  present  for  a  few  moments  to 
see  the  King  and  roj^al  family.     It  was,  in  fact,  a  con- 

31 


VICTORIA  R.  I.  HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

slant  subject  of  dispute  between  the  King  and  the  Duchess 
of  Kent  that  the  Princess  was  brought  up  in  such  seclusion, 
but  her  mother  very  wisely  considered  that  the  surround- 
ings of  a  court,  and  especially  of  such  a  court,  were  not 
the  best  possible  atmosphere  in  which  to  bring  up  a  young 
child,  and  certainly  the  end  fully  justified  her  decision. 

During  the  summer  of  this  year  the  usual  visits  were 
paid  to  Claremont,  and  afterwards  some  weeks  were  spent 
at  Tunbridge  Wells  and  at  Ramsgate,  where  the  child 
enjoyed  herself  finely  on  the  sands. 

Mr.  Charles  Knight,  the  pioneer  of  cheap  publications, 
gives  the  following  interesting  accovmt  in  his  Passages  of 
a  Workmg  Life : 

"  In  the  summer  of  1827  I  delighted  to  walk  in  Kensing- 
ton Gardens.  Sometimes  of  a  holiday  afternoon  with  my 
elder  girls — more  frequently  in  the  earlj'^  morning  on  my 
way  to  town. 

"In  such  a  season,  when  the  sun  was  scarcely  high 
enough  to  have  dried  up  the  dews  of  Kensington's  green 
alleys,  as  I  passed  along  the  broad  central  walk  I  saw  a 
group  on  the  lawn  before  the  palace  which  to  my  mind  was 
a  vision  of  exquisite  loveliness. 

"The  Duchess  of  Kent  and  her  daughter,  whose  years 
then  numbered  eight,  are  breakfasting  in  the  open  air,  a 
single  page  attending  upon  them  at  a  respectful  distance. 
The  matron  is  looking  on  with  eyes  of  love,  while  the  fair, 
soft,  English  face  is  bright  with  smiles  The  world  of 
fashion  is  not  yet  astir,  the  clerks  and  mechanics  passing 
onward  to  their  occupations  are  few,  and  they  exhibit 
nothing  of  that  vulgar  curiosity  which  is.  I  think,  more 
commonly  found  in  the  class  of  the  merely  rich  than  in 
the  ranks  below  them  in  the  world's  estimation.  What 
a  beautiful  characteristic  it  seems  to  be  of  the  training 
of  this  roj^'al  girl  that  she  should  not  have  been  taught  to 
shrink  from  the  public  eye,  that  she  should  not  have  been 
burdened  with  the  premature  conception  of  her  probable 
high  destiny,  that  she  should  enjoy  the  freedom  and  sim- 
plicity of  a  child's  nature,  that  she  should  not  be  restrained 

32 


EARLY    DAYS 

when  she  starts  up  from  the  breakfast-table  and  runs  to 
gather  a  flower  in  the  adjoining  parterre,  that  her  merry 
laugh  should  be  as  fearless  as  the  notes  of  the  thrush  in 
the  groves  around  her.  I  passed  on,  and  blessed  her,  and 
I  thank  God  that  I  have  lived  to  see  the  golden  fruits  of 
such  training." 

As  the  young  Princess  was  very  fond  of  flowers,  some 
ladies  who  were  in  the  habit  of  taking  their  walks  in  Ken- 
sington Gardens  were  accustomed  to  present  her  with  a 
small  nosegay,  until  after  a  time  little  Victoria  would 
expect  the  present  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  ask  for  the 
flowers  if  they  were  not  readily  forthcoming.  This  her 
governess  told  her  she  must  not  do.  One  morning  she 
met  the  ladies,  and  saw  that  they  were  without  the  usual 
bouquet.  Knowing  that  she  was  not  pennitted  to  ask  for 
it,  and  a  little  girl  with  a  reticule  in  her  hand  passing  at 
the  time,  the  Princess  cried  out  to  her,  "Little  girl,  have 
you  any  flowers  in  that  bag?" 

On  another  occasion,  meeting  the  Bishop  of  Salisbury 
while  on  her  walk,  she  resolutely  declined  to  speak  to  him, 
and  not  all  the  threats  of  her  mother's  displeasure  would 
induce  her  to  open  her  lips.  At  last  she  ran  away,  and 
when  fairly  out  of  reach  turned  and  kissed  her  hand 
repeatedly  to  the  aged  prelate.  Many  stories,  more  or 
less  authentic,  have  been  told  by  old  servants  and  others, 
which  go  to  show  that  the  somewhat  strict  discipline  which 
prevailed  at  Kensington  Palace  had  by  no  means  sup- 
pressed the  natural  high  spirits  of  the  young  girl.  In- 
deed, the  Duchess  of  Kent  was  far  too  wise  a  mother  to 
attempt  anything  of  the  kind. 

Early  in  the  year  1828  the  Queen's  half-sister,  Princess 
Feodore,  the  daughter  of  the  Duchess  of  Kent  by  her  first 
marriage  w4th  the  Prince  of  Leiningen,  was  married  to 
the  Prince  of  Hohenlohe-Langenburg.  This  was  a  great 
blow  to  the  future  Queen,  for,  although  Princess  Feodore 
was  by  many  years  her  senior,  she  had  been  her  constant 
companion,  and  was  almost  her  only  playmate. 

Princess  Feodore  had  three  children,  the  eldest  of  whom 
^  00 


VICTORIA  R.  L    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

had  a  son  who  is  well  known  in  England,  for  he  is  a  dis- 
tinguished British  officer,  namely.  Count  Gleichen.  He 
served  with  the  Grenadier  Guards  in  the  South  African 
campaign,  and  was  wounded  at  the  Modder  River.  The 
Princess  died  on  September  2S,  1872. 

There  was  also  a  son  by  the  first  marriage  of  the  Duchess 
of  Kent,  Prince  Charles  Emich,  who  was  of  course  Queen 
Victoria's  half-brother.  At  the  time  of  the  second  marriage 
of  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  this  boy  was  Prince  of  Leiningen, 
having  succeeded  his  father  as  a  minor  in  181 4,  five  years 
before  the  birth  of  Princess  Victoria. 

The  boy  remained  at  Leiningen  to  complete  his  educa- 
tion, when  the  widowed  Duchess  of  Kent  resolved  to  reside 
permanently  in  England  for  the  sake  of  her  little  daughter. 
Thus  it  came  about  that  Princess  Victoria  saw  hardly 
an3rthing  of  him  during  her  childhood,  though  he  occasion- 
ally paid  brief  visits  to  England.  His  death  took  place  in 
1859.  His  son  Ernest,  Prince  of  Leiningen,  is  an  Admiral 
in  the  British  Fleet,  and  was  for  some  time  in  command 
of  the  royal  yacht. 

Sir  Walter  Scott  noted  in  his  diary  for  this  year,  on 
May  19th,  an  interesting  reference  to  the  future  Queen: 

"  Dined  with  the  Duchess  of  Kent ;  was  very  kindly 
received  bj^  Prince  Leopold  and  presented  to  the  little 
Princess  Victoria,  the  heir-apparent  to  the  throne,  as 
things  now  stand.  This  lady  is  educated  with  much  care, 
and  is  watched  so  closely  that  no  busy  maid  has  a  moment 
to  whisper,  'You  are  heir  of  England.'  I  suspect,  if  we 
could  dissect  the  little  heart,  we  should  find  some  pigeon 
or  other  bird  of  the  air  had  carried  the  matter." 

Whether  this  was  so  or  not  is  difficult  to  say.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  every  care  was  taken  to  avoid  premature 
disclosures  on  this  subject;  but  Queen  Victoria  used  to 
say  that  she  had  a  vague  idea  of  the  state  of  affairs  from 
almost  her  earliest  years.  Something  of  the  kind  could 
hardly  be  avoided.  When  she  was  very  small  indeed  she 
is  reported  to  have  asked  her  nurse,  "  Why  do  all  the  gentle- 
men raise  their  hats  to  me  and  not  to  Feodore?" 

34 


EARLY    DAYS 

Baroness  Lehzen  wrote  to  the  Queen  many  years  after- 
wards :  "  I  ask  your  leave  to  cite  some  remarkable  words 
of  .yours  when  only  twelve  years  old,  when  the  Regency 
Bill  was  in  progress.  I  then  said  to  the  Duchess  of  Kent 
that  now,  for  the  first  time,  you  ought  to  know  your  place 
in  the  succession.  Her  Royal  Highnesss  agreed  with  me, 
and  I  put  the  genealogical  table  into  the  historical  book. 
When  Mr.  Davys  had  gone,  the  Princess  Victoria  opened 
as  usual  the  book  again,  and  seeing  the  additional  paper 
said, '  I  never  saw  that  before. '  '  It  was  not  necessary  you 
should,  Princess,'  I  answered.  '1  see  I  am  nearer  the 
throne  than  I  thought.'  'So  it  is,'  I  said.  After  some 
moments  the  Princess  resumed, '  Many  a  child  would  boast, 
but  they  do  not  know  the  difficulty  There  is  much  splen- 
dor, but  more  responsibility.'  The  Princess  having 
lifted  up  the  forefinger  of  her  right  hand  before  she  spoke, 
gave  me  her  little  hand,  saying,  *  I  will  be  good.  I  under- 
stand now  why  you  urge  me  so  much  to  learn  even  Latin. 
My  aunts  Augusta  and  Mary  never  did,  but  you  told  me 
that  Latin  was  the  foundation  of  English  grammar  and 
of  all  the  elegant  expressions,  and  I  learned  it  as  you  wished. 
But  I  understand  all  better  now.'  And  she  gave  me  her 
hand,  repeating,  '  I  will  be  good. '  I  then  said,  '  But  your 
aunt  Adelaide  is  still  young,  and  may  have  children ;  and, 
of  course,  they  would  ascend  the  throne  after  their  father, 
William  the  Fourth,  and  not  you.  Princess.'  She  an- 
swered, 'If  it  were  so  I  should  be  very  glad,  for  I  know, 
by  the  love  Aunt  Adelaide  bears  me,  how  much  she  loves 
children.' " 

The  Queen  afterwards  referred  to  the  intimation  of  her 
probable  succession,  and  wrote,  "  I  cried  much  on  hearing 
of  it,"  but  she  subsequently  added  that  the  account  was 
not  quite  accurate. 

The  following  anecdote  is  related  by  Mr.  A.  T.  Story, 
who  vouches  for  its  truth :  "  The  Princess  Victoria  had 
set  her  heart  on  buying  a  doll  she  had  seen  in  a  shop  win- 
dow. But  her  mother,  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  did  not  let 
her  buy  it  until  her  next  allowance  of  pocket-money  enabled 

35 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

her  to  do  so.  At  last  the  day  came,  when  she  hurried  to 
the  shop,  paid  over  the  six  bright  shilHngs,  and  got  the 
long-coveted  doll.  On  coming  out  of  the  shop  with  her 
treasure  in  her  arms  the  young  Princess  encountered  a 
wretchedly  miserable  tramp,  who  plucked  up  his  courage 
and  asked  for  help.  The  Princess  Victoria  hesitated  a 
moment ;  then,  realizing  that  she  no  longer  had  any  money 
left  for  the  man,  she  returned  to  the  shopkeeper  and  gave 
him  back  the  doll.  He  gave  her  the  six  shillings  again, 
promising  also  to  keep  the  doll  for  her  for  a  few  days.  The 
little  lady  hurried  out  of  the  shop  and  thrust  the  whole  of 
the  money  into  the  hand  of  the  poor  beggar,  who  was 
astounded  at  the  extent  of  his  good  fortune." 

In  the  year  1829  the  education  of  the  little  Princess  began 
to  assume  more  considerable  proportions.  As  we  have 
already  noted.  Miss  Lehzen  and  the  Rev.  George  Davys 
gave  her  general  instruction;  but,  in  addition,  teachers 
were  now  engaged  for  special  subjects.  Mr.  Steward, 
who  was  at  that  time  writing-master  of  Westminster  School, 
taught  her  writing  and  arithmetic ;  while  Mr.  J.  B.  Sale, 
who  had  been  a  prominent  member  of  the  choir  at  the 
Chapel  Royal,  came  to  assist  in  her  singing  lessons,  though 
later  on  she  received  musical  instruction  from  the  famous 
Lablache.  Dancing  lessons  were  given  by  Madame 
Bourdin,  and  it  is  considered  probable  that  the  grace  and 
dignity  which  characterised  every  attitude  and  movement 
of  Queen  Victoria  were  very  largely  due  to  this  lady's 
early  instruction. 

She  was  taught  drawing  by  Mr.  Westall,  the  distinguish- 
ed Academician,  under  whose  teaching  she  soon  displayed 
remarkable  proficiency.  Drawing  was,  with  music,  one 
of  the  favorite  recreations  of  her  after-life,  and  some  pleas- 
ing sketches  and  etchings  —  the  latter  often  done  with 
Prince  Albert's  assistance — have  been  published. 

ThePrincess  studied  Frenchunder  MonsieurGrandineau, 
while  German  was  imparted  by  Monsieur  Barez.  It  is 
worthy  of  remark  that  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  although  speak- 
ing English  herself  with  some  difficulty,  always  insisted 

36 


EARLY    DAYS 

that  the  conversation  at  Kensington  Palace  should  be 
carried  on  in  that  language.  She  was  most  anxious 
that  Princess  Victoria  should  grow  up  a  thorough  English- 
woman. The  idea,  therefore,  that  she  learned  German 
from  her  mother's  conversation  is  an  error.  At  a  some- 
what later  date.  Sir  Charles  Murray  relates  :  "  Her  Majesty- 
speaks  French  perfectly,  and  both  reads  and  understands 
German,  but  does  not  like  speaking  it.  She  is  also  a  good 
Italian  scholar."  As  she  grew  older,  she  mastered  Latin 
and  made  considerable  progress  in  Greek;  and  is  stated 
to  have  been  the  best  educated  young  Englishwoman  of 
her  day. 

English  history  was  always  a  favorite  subject  of  study. 
One  day  in  conversation  with  a  bishop  she  was  asked 
what  opinion  she  had  formed  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  The 
Princess  gave  a  very  discriminating  reply:  "I  think 
that  Queen  Elizabeth  was  a  very  great  queen,  but  I  am 
not  quite  sure  that  she  was  so  good  a  woman." 

The  lessons  which  the  little  child  always  enjoyed  most 
were  those  in  riding,  in  which  she  became  very  efficient. 
In  the  early  days  of  her  reign,  nothing  delighted  her  more 
than  a  fast  gallop  through  AVindsor  Park.  In  fact,  so 
daring  was  she,  that  these  rides  were  the  terror  of  many 
of  her  ladies-in-waiting. 

On  May  28th  of  tliis  year  (1829)  Princess  Victoria  made 
her  first  acquaintance  with  the  ceremony  of  a  Court.  It 
was  at  a  juvenile  ball  given  by  the  King  in  honor  of  the 
child-queen  of  Portugal,  Dona  Maria  Da  Gloria.  Con- 
temporarj^  reports  tell  us  that  the  little  Queen  presented  a 
most  splendid  appearance,  her  dress  being  encrusted  with 
jewels,  but "  the  elegant  simplicity  of  the  attire  and  manners 
of  the  British  heiress  formed  a  strong  contrast  to  the  glare 
and  glitter  around  the  precocious  Queen.  These  royal 
young  ladies  danced  in  the  same  quadrille,  and,  though 
the  performance  of  Dona  Maria  was  greatly  admired, 
all  persons  of  refined  taste  gave  the  preference  to  the  modest 
graces  of  the  English-bred  Princess." 

This  was  the  first  occasion  on  which  Princess  Victoria 

37 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

danced  in  public,  and  she  had  for  her  partners  Lord  Fitz- 
alan,  heir  to  the  dukedom  of  Norfolk,  Prince  William  of 
Saxe- Weimar,  the  young  Prince  Esterhazy,  and  the  sons 
of  Lords  De  la  Warr  and  Jersey. 

The  account  given  in  Greville's  Memoirs  for  May  29, 
1829,  is  perhaps  worth  quoting: 

"Yesterday  the  King  gave  a  dinner  to  the  Dukes  of 
Orleans  and  Chartres,  and  in  the  evening  there  was  a 
child's  ball.  It  was  pretty  enough.  I  saw  for  the  first 
time  the  Queen  of  Portugal  and  our  little  Victoria.  The 
Queen  was  finely  dressed  with  a  ribbon  and  Order  over  her 
shoulder,  and  she  sat  by  the  King.  She  is  good-looking, 
and  has  a  sensible  Asturian  countenance.  In  dancing 
she  fell  down  and  hurt  her  face,  was  frightened  and  bruised, 
and  went  away.  The  King  was  very  kind  to  her.  Our 
little  Princess  is  a  short,  plain-looking  child,  and  not  near 
so  good-looking  as  the  Portuguese.  However,  if  Nature 
has  not  done  so  much,  Fortune  is  likely  to  do  a  great  deal 
more  for  her.  The  King  looked  very  well,  and  stayed 
at  the  ball  till  two." 

It  is  noticeable  that  this  description  of  the  Princess  is 
hardly  so  flattering  as  others  we  have  quoted.  But  Greville 
was  not  addicted  to  observing  the  best  sides  of  people  or 
things. 

Part  of  the  summer  of  this  j'-ear  was  spent  at  Broadstairs, 
where  the  old  inhabitants  used  to  tell  with  what  evident 
delight  the  little  girl  played  about  on  the  sands.  On  the 
way  back  to  Kensington,  a  visit  of  two  days  was  paid  to 
the  Earl  of  Winchilsea  at  his  country  seat  near  Ashford. 
In  the  same  year  Princess  Victoria  saw  her  uncle,  George 
IV.,  for  the  last  time.     His  health  was  failing  fast. 

The  Duchess  of  Kent  was  now  less  straitened  in  means, 
more  generous  provision  having  been  made  by  Parliament 
for  the  maintenance  of  her  household,  in  view  of  the  pros- 
pects and  probable  future  position  of  the  Princess.  It 
thus  became  possible  for  the  Duchess  and  her  daughter  to 
indulge  more  freely  in  travel.  The  wise  mother  was  quick 
to  take  advantage  of  this  opportunity,  for  she  very  rightly 

38 


THE    PRINCESS    VICTORIA'S    ADVENTURE   IN    THE    APPLE-TREE 


EARLY    DAYS 

held  that  if  her  daughter  ever  became  Queen  of  England, 
it  would  be  of  the  greatevSt  advantage  to  her  to  have  formed 
a  general  acquaintance  with  the  chief  parts  of  her  country. 

In  the  summer  of  1830  two  pleasant  months  were 
spent  at  Malvern,  where  the  Royal  party  stayed  at  '!  Holly 
Mount,"  a  fine  old-fashioned  mansion  on  the  hillside,  com- 
manding one  of  the  finest  views  in  England. 

While  here  the  days  were  spent  in  rambling  about  the 
hills  and — in  climbing  trees,  a  taste  that  was  rather  perilous 
in  one  so  young.  Local  tradition  says  that  on  one  occasion 
she  was  found  perched  in  an  apple-tree,  unable  to  descend 
till  a  gardener  came  to  the  rescue. 

On  the  way  to  Malvern  a  brief  visit  had  been  paid  to  the 
famous  home  of  the  Marlboroughs  at  Blenheim,  and  some 
time  had  been  spent  at  Stratford-on- Avon,  where  the  various 
associations  with  Shakespeare  were  studied  with  no  small 
interest.  Warwick,  Kenilworth,  and  Birmingham  were 
also  included  in  the  line  of  route.  At  the  last-named 
town  many  of  the  principal  manufactories  were  visited,  at- 
tention being  particularly  paid  to  the  glass-blowing  and 
coining. 

While  at  Malvern  excursions  were  made  to  Earl  Beau- 
champ's  seat  at  Madresfield;  to  Eastnor  Castle,  the  home 
of  the  Somersets ;  and  to  other  noblemen's  seats,  as  well 
as  to  the  cities  of  Hereford  and  Worcester.  At  the  latter 
city  the  Royal  Porcelain  Works  came  in  for  a  good  deal 
of  notice. 

On  the  return  from  Malvern,  Badminton  and  Gloucester 
were  visited,  and  the  journey  was  continued  through  Bath 
to  East  Stoke  Park,  where  the  acquaintance  of  Thomas 
Moore,  the  Irish  poet,  was  made. 

In  his  diary  he  notes :  "  The  Duchess  sang  a  duet  or 
two  with  the  Princess  Victoria,  and  several  very  pretty 
German  songs  by  herself.  I  also  sang  several  songs, 
with  which  her  Royal  Highness  was  much  pleased." 

The  party  now  proceeded  over  Salisbury  Plain,  and 
visited  Stonehenge  on  the  way  to  Salisbury,  where  the 
young  Princess  was  received  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm, 

39 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER   LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

and,  as  usual,  was  immensely  interested  in  studjdng  the 
antiquities  at  the  Cathedral. 

It  needs  to  be  remembered  that  these  journeys  were 
much  more  serious  undertakings  than  such  excursions 
would  be  at  the  present  day.  There  was  no  rapid  travelling 
by  railway  then,  but  all  the  journej^s  had  to  be  taken  by 
post-chaise  or  coach,  with,  however,  the  compensating 
advantage  that  the  country  was  seen  to  far  better  purpose. 

The  next  stay  was  at  Portsmouth,  where  the  Princess 
visited  the  Royal  George  yacht  and  the  St.  Vincent  man- 
of-war,  and  spent  considerable  time  in  exploring  the  dock- 
yard. Even  at  this  early  age  she  exhibited  great  interest 
in  all  matters  connected  with  the  Navy. 

In  the  December  of  this  year,  a  Regency  Bill  was  passed, 
appointing  the  Duchess  of  Kent  to  be  Regent  in  the  event 
of  her  daughter,  the  Princess  Victoria,  ascending  the 
throne  during  her  minority.  The  speeches  delivered  by 
Ministers  in  both  Houses  on  this  occasion  showed  how 
entirely  the  country  approved  the  course  taken  by  the 
Duchess  in  the  education  of  the  future  Queen.  This  was 
no  small  satisfaction  to  Her  Roj^al  Highness,  who  at  first 
had  been  considerably  misunderstood. 

At  the  close  of  the  j^ear  Parliament  was  prorogued  by 
the  King,  and  the  Princess  Victoria  witnessed  the  State 
procession  in  company  with  the  Queen  and  Ro3^al  Family. 
On  this  occasion  the  Queen  took  her  young  niece  by  the 
hand,  and,  leading  her  to  the  front  of  the  balcony,  in- 
troduced her  to  her  future  subjects. 

In  the  following  year  (1831)  an  important  addition  to 
the  household  of  the  Princess  was  made  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  State  Governess,  the  Duchess  of  Northumber- 
land. This  lady,  however,  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
teaching  of  her  charge,  her  function  being  mainly  an 
ornamental  one.  She  was  supposed,  however,  to  accom- 
pany the  Princess  on  all  public  occasions,  and  to  give  any 
hints  that  might  be  necessary  upon  Court  etiquette. 

It  was  in  the  month  of  January  that  the  Duchess  of  Kent 
and  the  Princess  Victoria  commanded  a  performance  at 

40 


EARLY    DAYS 

Covent  Garden  Theatre,  which  was  the  first  playhouse 
her  Majesty  ever  visited.  The  Duchess  and  her  daughter 
occupied  Prince  Leopold's  box,  the  second  from  the  stage 
on  the  left  side  of  the  house.  The  audience  was  largely 
composed  of  children,  and  after  the  performance  of  the 
farce,  "The  £ioo  Note,"  there  were  cries  of  "God  Save  the 
King,"  which  directed  attention  to  the  Royal  visitors,  who 
were  warmly  cheered.  A  pantomime  was  played,  and  the 
Princess  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  performance  with 
great  enjoyment,  and  laughed  heartily  at  the  eccentricities 
of  it. 

On  February  24th  the  Princess  made  her  first  appear- 
ance at  a  Drawing-room.  It  was  held  in  honor  of  Queen 
Adelaide.  During  the  reception  she  stood  on  the  left  of 
the  Queen,  dressed  very  simply  in  white,  with  a  pearl 
necklace  and  a  diamond  ornament  in  her  hair.  Hence- 
forward she  attended  Drawing-rooms  twice  every  year, 
but  did  not  take  part  in  State  balls  or  evening  ceremonies 
until  a  considerably  later  period. 

Baroness  Lehzen,  writing  in  May  of  this  year,  said: 
"My  Princess  will  be  twelve  years  old  to-morrow.  She 
is  not  tall,  but  very  pretty ;  has  dark  blue  eyes,  and  a  mouth 
which,  though  not  tiny,  is  very  good-tempered  and  pleas- 
ant; very  fine  teeth,  a  small  but  graceful  figure,  and  a 
very  small  foot.  She  was  dressed  to  receive  me  in  white 
muslin,  with  a  coral  necklace.  Her  whole  bearing  is  so 
childish  and  engaging  that  one  could  not  desire  a  more 
amiable  child." 

Just  about  this  time  occurred  what  appears  to  be  Prince 
Albert's  first  message  to  his  future  bride.  It  is  merely 
one  of  "best  remembrances  to  our  dear  cousin,"  but  it 
serves  to  show  that  the  two  took  some  slight  interest  in 
one  another.  It  was  not  till  some  time  later,  however, 
that  they  met  for  the  first  time. 

In  August  of  this  year  the  Princess  paid  her  first  visit 
to  the  Isle  of  Wight,  where  she  stayed  for  two  months  in 
company  with  her  mother.  During  this  time  she  made  a 
tour  round  the  western  part  of  the  island,  visiting  Ryde 

4T 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

and  Ventnor,  Yarmouth  and  Ne\\T3ort,  and  on  the  way 
home  paying  a  visit  to  her  uncle.  Prince  Leopold,  at  Clare- 
mont. 

Claremont  is  interesting  on  account  of  its  previous  his- 
tory. It  was  built  bjT^  the  great  Clive,  who,  after  his  mar- 
vellous career  in  India,  bought  the  estate,  and  spent  a 
great  deal  of  the  money  won  in  the  East  on  its  adornment. 
The  house  is  a  most  comfortable  brick  parallelogram, 
with  a  central  hall  in  which  is  the  stainvay,  and  lit  from 
above.  In  front  there  is  the  inevitable  portico,  so  favored 
by  architects  in  the  eighteenth  century,  and  from  the 
platform  underneath  its  huge  columns  there  is  a  fine  view 
over  to  the  distant  Epsom  Downs.  A  large  front  hall, 
decorated  in  Adam's  style,  which  blended  Roman  massive- 
ness  with  the  delicate  semi-Greek  decoration  of  Pompeii, 
is  paved  with  marble.  A  library  and  large  dining-room 
are  on  the  right,  and  on  the  left  are  good  rooms  in  which 
Louis  Philippe  lived.  Extending  along  most  of  the  back 
of  the  house  is  a  great  room  which  the  French  family  used 
for  receptions.  There  are  fine  cedars,  and  even  cork-trees, 
on  the  lawns  around,  which  rise  on  one  side  to  mounds 
covered  with  good  timber.  Near  the  stables,  on  the  other 
side,  is  a  very  large  kitchen-garden,  with  massive  brick 
walls,  and  groves  of  pine-trees  commence  beyond  a  little 
lake,  which,  surrounded  by  woods  and  masses  of  rhododen- 
dron, is  stocked  with  water-fowl.  The  pasture-lands  in 
front  of  the  house  fall  away  in  pleasant  slopes,  and  possess 
a  large  farm-yard,  in  the  centre  of  which,  on  a  column, 
stands  a  bronze  peacock,  placed  there  by  Clive,  in  memory 
of  his  days  in  India,  where,  as  in  Persia,  the  beautiful  bird 
is  constantly  used  as  an  ornament,  sometimes  wondrously 
jewelled  on  the  thrones  of  princes,  and  sometimes  in  sculpt- 
ured relief  around  the  halls  of  their  palaces. 

Beneath  an  old  brick  tower  which  rises  from  the  wooded 
mound  near  the  house  may  still  be  seen  the  model  forti- 
fications dug  by  the  young  French  Princes,  the  Comte  de 
Paris  and  the  Due  de  Chartres,  who,  unable  to  pursue  a 
military  career  in  the  French  army,  took  part  in  the  Amer- 

42 


EARLY    DAYS 

ican  Civil  War  on  the  side  of  the  North.  Their  uncle,  the 
Due  d'Aumale,  had  been  compelled  to  leave  his  command 
in  the  Army  of  Algeria,  when  the  news  of  the  King's  flight 
from  the  Tuileries  reached  Africa.  He  bitterly  felt  the 
necessity  which  robbed  him  of  military  ambition,  but  was 
fortunate  in  possessing  that  love  of  art  and  literature 
which  is  one  of  the  best  resources,  for  it  enabled  him  to 
give  to  his  country  valuable  works  in  history,  and  a  collec- 
tion of  pictures  and  of  things  of  interest  and  beauty  nobly 
bequeathed  to  the  French  nation  at  his  death  with  the 
Palace  of  Chantilly. 

Queen  Victoria  bought  Claremont,  and  lived  there  oc- 
casionally, but  its  associations  remind  one  more  of  George 
IV. 's  handsome  and  unfortunate  daughter.  Princess 
Charlotte,  who,  not  too  happy  with  her  father,  had  a  brief 
period  of  good  fortune  when  she  wedded  Prince  Leopold, 
afterwards  King  of  the  Belgians,  and  Claremont  was  her 
home  during  the  time  when  it  was  believed  that  she  would 
become  Queen  of  England.  The  L's  of  King  Leopold  are 
still  to  be  seen  on  the  iron  railings  surrounding  a  terrace 
in  front  of  a  conservatory  on  the  slopes  of  the  hill  overlook- 
ing the  little  lake.  It  was  at  Claremont  that  the  Princess 
and  her  babe  died.  A  memory  still  more  sad  for  the  Queen 
clung  to  the  house,  for  her  dear  and  gifted  son,  called  after 
King  Leopold,  had  this  place  as  his  home ;  alas !  only  for 
a  few  short  years. 

In  the  following  summer  an  extended  tour  was  taken  by 
the  Princess  and  her  mother.  Passing  through  Birming- 
ham, Wolverhampton,  and  Shrewsbury,  they  proceeded 
to  Powys  Castle.  Thence  they  went  by  way  of  the  Menai 
Bridge  to  the  Isle  of  Anglesey,  where  they  stayed  at  the 
"Bulkeley  Arms"  at  Beaumaris,  which  had  been  taken 
for  a  month.  Here  the  Princess  performed  what  seems  to 
have  been  her  first  public  function.  The  National  Eistedd- 
fod was  in  session,  and  she  presented  the  prizes  to  the 
successful  competitors. 

The  stay  at  Beaumaris  was  cut  short  by  an  outbreak 
of  sickness  in  the  locality,  and  the  royal  party  removed  to 

43 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

Plas  Newydd,  where  the  Princess  laid  the  first  stone  of  a 
boys'  school,  and  exhibited  considerable  interest  in  the 
educational  arrangements  of  the  place.  Bangor,  Conway, 
and  Holywell  were  next  visited,  after  which  the  royal  party 
went  on  to  Eaton  Hall.  During  their  stay  there  a  visit 
was  paid  to  Chester,  on  which  occasion  the  new  bridge 
over  the  Dee  was  opened  and  received  the  name  of  "Vic- 
toria." Next  they  visited  the  Duke  of  Devonshire  at  Chats- 
worth,  from  which  centre  Matlock  and  many  neighboring 
places  of  interest  received  attention. 

On  their  way  back  to  Oxford  they  contrived  to  visit  an 
extraordinary  number  of  towns  in  the  Midlands,  careful 
notes  upon  all  of  which  were  recorded  in  the  Princess's 
diary.  Among  others  a  visit  was  paid  to  Bromsgrove, 
where  the  Princess  was  especially  interested  in  the  manu- 
facture of  nails.  She  was  greatly  delighted  to  receive  a 
present  from  the  Bromsgrove  nailers  consisting  of  a  thou- 
sand microscopical  nails  of  all  patterns  enclosed  in  a  quill 
and  presented  in  a  little  gold  box. 

At  Oxford  addresses  were  presented  by  the  Vice-Chan- 
cellor on  behalf  of  the  University  and  by  the  Mayor  and 
Corporation  on  behalf  of  the  City.  Several  of  the  colleges 
were  visited,  as  was  also  the  University  Press,  where  the 
Princess  was  presented  with  a  handsomely  bound  Bible 
and  an  account  of  her  visit  printed  on  satin. 

The  early  part  of  1833  was  passed  at  Kensington,  where 
the  usual  studies  were  kept  up,  though  the  Princess  now 
went  rather  more  frequently  into  society.  In  April  the 
Duchess  of  Kent  gave  a  dinner  to  the  King  at  Kensington 
Palace,  but  the  Princess  as  usual  did  not  dine,  but  merely 
appeared  in  the  drawing-room  before  and  after  dinner. 

On  her  fourteenth  birthday,  which  occurred  this  year,  a 
juvenile  ball  was  held  at  St.  James's  Palace  in  her  honor. 
The  King  led  her  into  the  ballroom  and  again  to  supper, 
where  she  sat  beside  him  in  the  seat  of  honor.  King 
William  IV.  seems  to  have  been  warmly  attached  to  his 
little  niece,  and  did  not  approve  the  action  of  the  Duchess 
of  Kent  in  allowing  her  to  be  with  him  so  seldom. 

44 


Trr~,; :w-t^^:-rwi^ '^"^  ^' """Tr"^  "VTrnt^^ 


<V  "T1 


THE    PRIxN'CESS    VICTORIA    AT    THE    AGE    OF    ELEVEN 


EARLY    DAYS 

From  this  period  the  Princess  frequently  attended  the/ 
opera,  where  she  heard  most  of  the  leading  singers  of  the/ 
day. 

During  the  summer,  visits  were  made  to  Sion  and  Clare- 
mont;  in  July  the  Princess  went  with  her  mother  for  a 
second  tour  in  the  Isle  of  Wight.  This  time  she  was  ac- 
companied by  her  half-brother,  the  Prince  of  Leiningen, 
who  was  in  England  spending  his  holidays.  The  party 
stayed  principally  at  Norris  Castle. 

It  was  on  this  occasion  that  Princess  Victoria  first  made 
the  acquaintance  of  Osborne  Lodge,  an  old-fashioned 
house  which  she  afterwards  bought,  and  upon  whose  site 
Osborne  House  was  built.  She  attended  service  at  old 
Whippingham  Church,  and  was  present  at  the  consecra- 
tion of  the  church  at  East  Cowes. 

A  prolonged  tour  in  the  yacht  Emerald  was  now  taken. 
Southampton  and  Portsmouth  were  first  visited,  and  the 
flagship  Victory  was  inspected.  The  Princess  delighted 
the  men  by  sharing  their  dinner  at  one  of  the  tables,  and 
remarked  in  her  diary  with  satisfaction  on  the  neatness 
and  order  of  the  ship.  The  royal  party  next  went  by  water 
to  Weymouth,  where  the  town  was  illuminated  and  ad- 
dresses were  presented. 

It  should  be  noted  that  by  this  time  it  seemed  certain 
that  Queen  Adelaide  would  have  no  children,  and  that 
the  Princess  Victoria  would  succeed  King  William  IV., 
whose  health  was  now  fast  failing.  Thus  she  was  received 
with  royal  honors  wherever  she  went,  and  was  every- 
where welcomed  as  the  coming  Queen.  The  King  made 
many  jokes  about  what  he  called  "little  Victoria's  royal 
progresses,"  though  he  seems  to  have  somewhat  disliked 
the  fuss  that  was  made. 

From  Weymouth  visits  were  paid  by  land  to  Melbury 
and  Bridport,  whence  they  returned  to  the  Emerald,  in 
which  they  proceeded  to  Torquay. 

On  their  way  to  Plymouth  the  j^acht  collided  with  a 
hulk  and  greatly  damaged  her  masts  and  rigging.  Re- 
ports at  the  time  stated  that  the  pilot  snatched  up  the 

45 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER   LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

Princess  and  carried  her  to  a  safe  position,  and  that  a 
moment  later  the  mast  fell  on  the  spot  where  she  had  been 
standing.  But  the  Queen  herself  afterwards  said  that 
there  was  more  fear  than  danger,  and  that  comparatively 
little  harm  resulted  from  the  accident. 

At  Plymouth  the  Princess  reviewed  the  22nd,  84th,  and 
89th  Regiments,  and  presented  new  colors  to  the  last. 
Afterwards  a  visit  was  paid  to  the  San  Josef,  a  vessel 
which  had  teen  taken  by  Nelson  from  the  Spaniards  at 
St.  Vincent.  This  and  the  Caledonia,  another  warship 
which  Princess  Victoria  boarded,  each  carried  120  guns. 
Not  content  with  this,  the  Princess  visited  the  Revenge, 
a  two-decker  of  seventy-four  guns,  and  one  of  the  last  built 
of  her  class.  She  was  known  long  afterwards  as  the 
Empress,  and  is  to  be  seen  at  the  present  day  fulfilling  the 
functions  of  a  training-ship  on  the  Clyde.  The  Eddy- 
stone  Lighthouse  was  also  visited,  and  the  Plymouth 
breakwater  was  explored. 

Space  would  fail  to  describe  in  detail  all  that  was  done 
during  this  lengthy  tour,  during  which  Dartmouth,  Teign- 
mouth,  Dawlish,  Exeter,  Honiton,  Axminster,  Dorchester, 
Wareham,  and  Swanage  were  all  visited. 

During  their  stay  in  the  Isle  of  Wight  this  year  an  Aner- 
ican  visitor,  entering  Arreton  Churchyard  to  see  the  grave 
of  the  famous  Dairyman's  Daughter,  found  a  young  girl 
sitting  by  its  side  reading  Leigh  Richmond's  pathetic 
story  aloud  to  an  older  lad3^  and  subsequently  learned  that 
they  were  the  Princess  Victoria  and  the  Duchess  of  Kent. 

The  year  1834  was  a  comparatively  quiet  one,  and  but 
little  is  recorded  of  the  movements  of  the  Princess.  The 
following  lines  of  Southey,  then  Poet  Laureate,  were 
written  on  her  fifteenth  birthday : 

When  regal  glory  gems  that  brow. 
So  humble,  meek,  and  gentle  now, 
May  England's  haughty  foemen  bow, 

And  England's  children  brave 
The  glory  of  their  name  avow — 

The  lords  of  land  and  wave! 
46 


EARLY    DAYS 

The  principal  event  occurred  in  June,  when  she  went 
in  state  with  the  King  and  Queen  to  the  first  performance 
of  the  Royal  Musical  Festival  at  Westminster  Abbe3^  On 
the  way  she  was  everywhere  greeted  with  enthusiasm  as 
the  future  Queen. 

The  first  visit  of  the  Princess  to  a  racecourse  occurred 
about  this  time,  when  she  was  taken  to  Ascot,  where  in 
the  crowd  was  an  American  gentleman  who  wrote :  "  In 
one  of  the  intervals  I  walked  under  the  King's  stand,  and 
I  saw  her  Majesty  the  Queen  and  the  young  Princess 
Victoria  very  distinctly.  They  were  leaning  over  a  railing 
listening  to  a  ballad  singer,  and  seeming  as  much  in- 
terested and  amused  as  any  simple  country  folk  could  be. 
The  Princess  is  much  better-looking  than  any  picture  of 
her  in  the  shops,  and  for  the  heir  to  such  a  crown  as  that 
of  England  unnecessarily  pretty  and  interesting.  She 
will  be  sold,  poor  thing — bartered  away — by  those  dealers 
in  royal  hearts  whose  grand  calculations  will  not  be  much 
consolation  to  her  if  she  happens  to  have  a  taste  of  her 
own."  There  is  no  need  to  say  how  completely  this  pre- 
diction failed  to  fulfil  itself. 

In  the  autumn  Calverley  House  was  taken  for  two  months 
at  Tunbridge  Wells,  a  town  which  at  that  time  was  a  more 
fashionable  resort  than  it  has  now  become,  and  to  which 
the  Duchess  of  Kent  was  greatly  attached.  Afterwards 
two  quiet  months  were  spent  at  St.  Leonards,  which  was 
then  a  somewhat  exclusive  and  little-frequented  marine 
resort. 

The  King  and  Queen  and  many  members  of  the  royal 
family  attended  her  confirmation,  which  took  place  on 
July  30,  1835,  at  the  Chapel  Royal,  St.  James's.  She 
received  the  Holy  Sacrament  for  the  first  time  on  the  follow- 
ing Sunday  at  Kensington.  The  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury and  the  Dean  of  Chester,  her  tutor,  officiated.  Soon 
after  her  Confirmation  Princess  Victoria  again  accompanied 
her  mother  to  Tunbridge  Wells,  where  she  took  great  in- 
terest in  the  schools,  frequently  visiting  them  and  making 
minute  inquiries  into  the  progress  of  the  pupils. 

47 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

In  September  a  lengthy  tour  was  undertaken.  The 
first  visit  was  paid  to  the  ancestral  home  of  the  Cecils  at 
Hatfield.  Next  came  visits  to  Stamford,  Grantham, 
Newark,  Doncaster,  and  York.  Here  the  famous  old 
minster  greatly  interested  her,  and  a  short  stay  was  made 
with  the  Archbishop  at  the  palace  at  Bishopsthorpe. 

Some  days  were  next  spent  in  studying  the  manufac- 
tories at  Leeds,  Wakefield,  and  Barnsley.  By  way  of 
Rotherham  they  proceeded  to  Belvoir  Castle  and  to  Went- 
worth  House,  where  an  amusing  incident  occurred. 

The  Princess  was  running  about  one  wet  morning  on 
the  terrace,  when  the  gardener  warned  her  to  be  careful, 
as  the  ground  was  "slape."  She  turned  and  asked, 
"What  is  'slape'?"  At  that  moment  her  heels  flew  up 
and  she  sat  down  suddenly  on  the  slippery  ground.  "  That 
is  'slape,'  miss,"  replied  the  old  servant,  as  he  hastened 
to  her  assistance. 

Next  a  short  stay  was  made  at  Burghley.  Greville,  in 
his  Memoirs,  gives  some  interesting  particulars.  He 
says :  "  There  are  vast  crowds  of  people  to  see  the  Princess 
Victoria,  who  comes  over  from  Wentworth  to-day."  On 
September  2ist  he  adds  :  "Came  here  on  Saturday  to  meet 
the  Duchess  of  Kent  and  Princess  Victoria.  They  arrived 
from  Belvoir  at  three  o'clock  in  a  heavy  rain,  the  civic 
authorities  having  turned  out  at  Stamford  to  escort 
them,  and  a  procession  of  different  people,  all  very  loyal. 
When  they  had  lunched,  and  the  Mayor  and  his 
brethren  had  got  dry,  the  Duchess  received  the  address, 
which  was  read  by  Lord  Exeter  as  Recorder.  It  talked 
of  the  Princess  as  destined  '  to  mount  the  throne  of  these 
realms. ' " 

On  September  27th  Greville  adds :  "  The  dinner  at  Burgh- 
ley was  very  handsome;  all  went  off  well,  except  that  a 
pail  of  ice  was  landed  in  the  Duchess  of  Kent's  lap,  which 
made  a  great  bustle.  Three  hundred  people  at  the  ball, 
which  was  opened  by  Lord  Exeter  and  the  Princess  Victoria, 
who  after  dancing  one  dance  went  to  bed." 

From  Burghley  the  royal  party  proceeded  to  visit  Peter- 

48 


EARLY    DAYS 

borough,  Thornley,   Wisbech,  and  King's  Lynn.     Next 
a  short  stay  was  made  at  Holkham. 

"Great  was  the  preparation,"  says  Lord  Albemarle, 
"  on  this  occasion.  Their  Royal  Highnesses  were  expected 
at  dinner,  but  they  were  detained  two  hours  by  the '  bankers' 
(navvies)  of  Lynn,  who,  in  an  excess  of  loyalty,  insisted 
upon  drawing  the  royal  carriage  round  the  town.  The 
Egyptian  Hall  at  Holkham  was  brilliantly  lighted  up,  and 
filled  with  persons  anxious  for  a  sight  of  their  future  Queen. 

"At  length  the  carriage  and  four,  escorted  by  a  body 
of  Yeomanry  Cavalry,  drove  up  to  the  door,  and  three 
ladies  alighted.  Mr.  Coke,  with  a  candle  in  each  hand, 
made  them  a  profound  bow.  When  he  recovered  his  erect 
position  the  objects  of  his  homage  had  vanished.  They 
were  the  dressers ! 

"  Soon  after  their  Royal  Highnesses  appeared  in  person. 
Both  were  most  affable.  The  youthful  Princess  in  par- 
ticular showed  in  her  demeanor  that  winning  courtesy 
with  which  millions  of  her  subjects  have  since  become 
familiar." 

After  leaving  Holkham,  a  short  stay  was  made  at  Euston 
Hall,  after  which  the  royal  party  returned  to  Kensington. 
Later  on  a  quiet  month  was  spent  at  Ramsgate,  and  short 
visits  were  paid  to  Walmer  Castle  and  Dover.  \ 

Thus  we  have  seen  how  from  very  early  years  the  future  \ 
Queen  of  England  was  taught  to  guard  her  health  by 
abundant  exercise  and  almost  rigid  temperance ;  to  acquire 
fearlessness  by  familiarity  with  riding  and  sailing;  to 
practise  strict  economy,  though  never  at  the  expense  of  a 
discriminating  charity;  and  to  cultivate  that  self-reliance 
which,  while  it  made  her  independent  in  her  opinions, 
was  never  allowed  to  degenerate  into  mere  self-will. 

Year  by  year  her  intellectual  development  was  provided 
for  by  a  liberal  and  systematic  education,  while  she  found 
her  chief  recreations  in  travel  and  in  the  practice  of  music 
and  drawing. 

Her  father,  the  Duke  of  Kent — at  any  rate  during  the 
later  years  of  his  life — favored  the  Whig  party,  and  the 

49 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

young  Princess's  early  instructions  in  politics  were  prob- 
ably derived,  in  great  part,  from  that  source.  It  was 
very  largely  due  to  the  subsequent  influence  of  the  Prince 
Consort  that  Queen  Victoria  adopted  that  attitude  of  ab- 
solute neutrality  in  matters  of  party  politics  which  dis- 
tinguished her  throughout  the  long  years  of  her  reign. 

In  the  year  1836  began  certain  other  influences  which 
were  to  strengthen  all  that  was  good  in  the  training  re- 
ceived in  the  more  plastic  time  of  childhood.  King  Leopold, 
whose  brother  was  Prince  Albert's  father,  the  Duke  of 
Coburg,  had  taken  a  natural  interest  in  the  succession  to 
the  throne,  which,  upon  his  own  wife's  death,  had  passed 
to  the  Princess  Victoria.  He  had  always  expressed  a 
strong  hope  that  the  young  Coburg  Prince  might  some  day 
become  the  Princess's  husband. 

With  this  end  he  asked  his  private  secretary,  Baron 
Stockmar,  to  make  careful  inquiries  into  the  life  and 
character  of  the  Prince.  No  better  agent  could  have  been 
found  than  this  gentleman,  of  whom  Lord  Palmers  ton  once 
said,  "I  have  come  in  my  life  across  only  one  absolutely 
disinterested  man — Stockmar."  His  report  was  highly 
favorable,  and  King  Leopold  persuaded  the  Duchess  of 
Kent  to  invite  the  Duke  of  Coburg  and  his  two  sons  to  visit 
Kensington  Palace.  They  arrived  in  May,  and  spent 
nearly  four  weeks  in  England.  Thus  for  the  first  time 
the  Princess  saw  her  future  husband. 

The  two  young  men  were  treated  to  a  round  of  gayety 
on  a  scale  to  which  they  had  not  been  accustomed.  They 
were  feted  at  Windsor  and  at  St.  James's  Palace  by  the 
King  and  by  various  members  of  the  royal  family,  and 
they  had  opportunities  of  seeing  all  the  chief  attractions 
of  the  metropolis.  They  were  especially  impressed  by  the 
anniversary  service  of  the  London  Charity  Schools  at  St. 
Paul's  Cathedral.  After  the  service  they  were  entertained 
at  the  Mansion  House  by  the  Lord  Mayor  and  Lady  Mayor- 
ess, and  met  a  large  gathering  of  the  chief  citizens. 

Prince  Albert  confessed  to  being  rather  bored  by  all  these 
festivities,  and  could  hardly  keep  awake  through  the  long 

50 


EARLY    DAYS 

hours  of  the  balls  and  parties.  But  he  was  careful  to  men- 
tion in  a  letter  that  "Our  aunt  Kent  is  very  kind  to  us, 
and  our  cousin  also  is  very  amiable." 

It  was  from  the  first  to  be  a  sine  qua  non  that  the  object 
of  the  visit  should  be  kept  strictly  secret  from  the  Princess 
as  well  as  from  Prince  Albert,  so  as  to  leave  them  completely 
at  their  ease.  But  at  the  close  of  their  visit  the  Princess 
was  told  of  the  hopes  cherished  by  her  uncle,  and  she 
wrote  to  him,  after  the  departure  of  Prince  Albert :  "  I  have 
now  only  to  beg  you,  my  dearest  uncle,  to  take  care  of  the 
health  of  one  now  so  dear  to  me,  and  to  take  him  under  your 
special  protection.  I  hope  and  trust  that  all  will  go  on 
prosperously  and  well  on  this  subject,  now  of  so  much 
importance  to  me." 

Nothing  was  said  to  Prince  Albert  of  this  letter,  but  the 
Princess  was  kept  informed  of  the  studies  and  movements 
of  the  brothers,  whether  they  were  staying  at  Brussels  or 
at  Bonn. 

From  that  time  onward  an  occasional  correspondence 
was  kept  up  between  the  two  cousins.  Prince  Albert  sending 
accounts  of  his  tours  on  the  Continent,  with  little  books 
of  views  of  the  places  visited. 

The  fun  that  was  latent  in  Prince  Albert's  nature  made 
his  society  most  amusing  to  his  companions,  for  he  was 
an  excellent  mimic,  and  used  to  take  off  the  professors  at 
college.  But,  able  as  he  was  to  see  the  humorous  side  of 
anything,  he  always  left  any  frivolities  for  the  lighter 
moments  of  life. 

How  seriously  he  took  serious  things  was  shown  in  his 
letter  to  the  Princess  a  year  later,  when  he  heard  of  the 
death  of  her  uncle,  the  King.  "  Now,"  he  wrote,  "  j^ou  are 
Queen  of  the  mightiest  land  of  Europe.  In  your  hand 
lies  the  happiness  of  millions.  May  Heaven  assist  you  and 
strengthen  you  with  all  its  strength  in  that  high  but  dif- 
ficult task!  I  hope  that  your  reign  may  be  long,  happy, 
and  glorious ;  and  that  your  efforts  may  be  rewarded  by 
the  thankfulness  and  love  of  your  subjects." 

On  May  24,  1837,  the  Princess  celebrated  her  eighteenth 

51 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

birthday,  and  attained  her  legal  majority.  At  seven 
o'clock  in  the  morning  she  was  serenaded  at  Kensington 
Palace  by  a  band  of  thirty-seven  performers.  She  sat  at 
an  upper  window  during  the  concert,  and  asked  that  a 
song  containing  expressions  complimentary  to  her  mother 
might  be  repeated.  All  through  the  morning  congratula- 
tory visits  were  paid  to  the  Duchess  and  her  daughter,  and 
numerous  valuable  presents  arrived.  The  King  sent  a 
magnificent  grand  piano  valued  at  two  hundred  guineas. 

In  the  evening  a  state  ball  took  place  at  St.  James's 
Palace,  when  the  Princess  for  the  first  time  took  precedence 
of  her  mother,  and  occupied  the  chair  of  state.  The  King 
and  Queen  were  absent,  owing  to  the  serious  condition  of 
the  former,  who  was  now  upon  what  proved  to  be  his  death- 
bed. London  was  illuminated  at  night,  and  fetes  were 
held  in  many  provincial  towns. 

A  notable  incident  was  the  visit  of  the  Lord  Mayor  and 
Aldermen  of  London,  who  proceeded  in  state  to  Kensington 
Palace  to  present  the  congratulations  of  the  City.  For 
many  days  afterwards  addresses  poured  in  from  all  parts 
of  the  kingdom. 

I  shall  make  no  apology  for  further  reference  to  the 
Queen's  childhood,  for  it  is  impossible  to  ignore  the  interest 
which  attaches  to  legitimate  domestic  details  among  the 
Teutonic  peoples.  All  such  which  are  not  of  an  indiscreet 
character,  but  which  help  to  show  the  nature  of  the  person 
whose  memoirs  are  being  written,  are  of  legitimate  in- 
terest. No  better  proof  of  tliis  could  have  been  given  to 
me  than  that  which  arose  from  an  incident  showing  knowl- 
edge in  America  of  the  family  life  of  the  late  Chevalier  de 
Bunsen,  who  for  some  years  held  the  office  of  Minister  of 
Prussia  in  London.  One  of  his  most  gifted  sons,  George 
de  Bunsen,  an  old  friend  of  mine,  and  a  member  of  the 
German  Reichstag,  came  to  see  me  in  Canada.  I  had  onlj^ 
a  few  hours'  notice  of  his  arrival,  and  was  desirous  to  get 
some  prominent  men  among  the  statesmen  and  judges 
at  the  Canadian  capital  to  meet  him.  Going  to  their 
houses  to  ask  these  friends  to  dine  with  me,   and  telling 

52 


EARLY    DAYS 

them  who  was  the  guest  they  were  to  meet,  I  found  that  they 
and  their  famiHes  knew  ahnost  as  much  about  De  Bunsen's 
father  and  himself  as  I  did,  for  the  Memoirs  of  the  Chevalier 
had  been  read  by  almost  all  of  them.  His  was  certainl}'-  a 
fascinating  personalitj",  though  it  was  not  so  much  the 
distinguished  part  he  took  in  Prussian  and  German  politics, 
or  his  writings  upon  the  Egj'ptian  djniasties,  or  other  works 
which  had  made  him  well  known,  but  the  pleasant  pictures 
given  of  him  as  the  father  of  his  family — a  good  husband 
and  a  devoted  friend. 

The  experiences,  therefore,  of  those  who,  in  her  girlhood, 
had  to  do  with  our  Queen  and  our  Queen's  education,  can- 
not be  passed  over  and  omitted  as  mere  nursery  tittle-tattle, 
but  have  a  value  of  their  own.  They  indicate  character; 
they  often  show  the  germs  of  that  excellence  which  became 
afterwards  apparent  to  all  the  world.  One  of  the  most 
charming  narrations  of  this  kind  is  given  in  a  journal  kept 
by  her  tutor,  the  Rev.  G.  Davys,  between  April,  1823,  and 
1825,  now  published  for  the  first  time.     He  writes : 

"On  Monday,  April  7,  1823,  I  was  introduced  to  the 
Duchess  of  Kent  by  Captain  Conroy. 

"Wednesdaj^  April  i6th,  I  attended  the  Princess  Vic- 
toria. She  was  not  yet  four  years  old.  Her  first  lesson  was 
the  alphabet,  which  the  Princess  had  learned  before.  Then 
the  following  line,  b — a,  b — e,  b — i,  b — o,  b — u,  b — y, 
which  we  did  not  quite  conquer.  The  Duchess  of  Kent 
afterwards  translated  a  page  of  French  into  English. 
The  Duchess  seems  to  be  very  anxious  for  the  improve- 
ment of  her  little  daughter,  and  had  promised  her  a  reward 
if  she  said  a  good  lesson.  The  Princess  asked  for  the 
reward  before  she  began  the  lesson. 

"  17th. — Princess  Victoria  took  a  lesson  of  about  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour.  The  Princess  had  a  good  pronuncia- 
tion, though  there  were  a  few  words  which  she  could  not 
make  quite  right.  She  confused  the  sound  of  'v' 
with  that  of  'w,'  and  pronounced  much  as  muts.  We 
tried  to  count  as  far  as  five,  and  could  not  quite  manage  it. 
I  tried  to  teach  her  to  make  an  '  o '  on  a  slate,  but  could  not 

53 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

make  her  move  her  hand  in  the  right  direction.  The 
Duchess  took  no  lesson.  Princess  Feodore  read  in  Bel- 
zoni's  Travels. 

"2ist. — I  wrote  some  short  words  on  cards  for  Princess 
Victoria,  and  endeavored  to  interest  her  by  making  her 
bring  them  to  me  from  a  distant  part  of  the  room  as  I  named 
them. 

"24th. — Princess  Victoria  wished  to  make  an  'o'  when 
I  wished  her  to  make  an  'h.'  I  had  promised  her  that  if 
she  made  a  good  copy  of  'h's'  to-day  she  should  have  a 
copy  of  '  o's '  to-morrow.  We  spelled  some  words  of  three 
letters. 

"25th. — A  lesson  of  two  hours  with  Princess  Victoria 
and  Princess  Feodore  to-day.  When  we  were  to  begin  our 
copy  of  'o's/  Princess  Victoria  wished  for  'h's.'  She 
seems  to  have  a  will  of  her  own.  She  seems  to  be 
a  sweet  -  tempered  child,  and  is  soon  brought  to  obedi- 
ence. By  the  Duchess's  desire  I  brought  the  nursery 
rhymes,  and  read  a  story  of  a  little  girl  who  cried  to  be 
washed. 

"May  2d. — A  lesson  with  Princess  Feodore.  Princess 
Victoria  not  well  enough  to  take  the  lesson.  I  asked  her 
to  spell  a  few  words,  among  the  rest  the  word  bad.  I  beUeve 
she  imagined  that  the  word  was  intended  to  be  applied  to 
herself  (which  it  was  not),  and  she  cried.  She  appears  to 
be  a  child  of  great  feeling. 

"5th. — Princess  Victoria  took  a  lesson  at  half-past 
eleven,  the  hour  being  altered  in  consequence  of  the  heat 
of  the  weather.  When  the  Princess  took  her  walk  or  ride 
before  her  lesson,  the  Duchess  gave  some  advice  to  her 
little  daughter  on  her  conduct  in  a  beautiful  manner,  teach- 
ing her  that  her  behavior  should  be  just  the  same  whether 
she  was  seen  or  not.  'Your  Father  in  Heaven  sees  your 
heart  at  all  times.' 

"Tuesday,  6th. — I  persuaded  Princess  Feodore  and 
Mile.  Lehzen  to  stand  up  with  Princess  Victoria  in  a  class, 
as  in  the  National  Schools,  to  excite  the  attention  of  the 
young  Princess.     This  seemed  to  please  her.     She  had  not 

54 


EARLY    DAYS 

behaved  well  in  the  nursery,  and  very  honestly  told  me 
of  it. 

"yth. — Princess  Victoria  and  the  Duchess  took  lessons. 
A  very  good  report  from  the  nursery  of  Princess  Victoria's 
behavior.     She  improves  in  sounds. 

"  12th. — The  little  Princess  has  great  feeling.  I  tried 
to  encourage  her  to  form  some  letters  by  telling  her  that  she 
would  then,  in  time,  be  able  to  write  a  letter.  'Yes,'  she 
says,  'I  will  write  to  ask  about  Richard  Playes.'  This, 
it  seems,  is  a  man  who  used  to  wait  on  the  Princess,  but 
who  broke  his  leg  and  went  afterwards  to  Prince  Leopold. 

"  13th. — She  will  spell  little  words  by  the  sound,  though 
she  cannot  read  them. 

"May  17th. — I  asked  whether  the  little  Princess  had 
been  good  in  the  nursery.  The  Duchess  said  she  had  been 
good  that  morning,  but  that  the  day  before  there  had  been 
a  little  storm.  The  little  one  very  honestly  added :  '  Yes, 
two  storms — one  at  dressing,  and  one  at  washing.' 

"20th. — The  Princess  Victoria  and  Princess  Feodore 
read.  When  I  came  away  dinner  had  just  been  announced 
to  the  little  Princess.  I  said  I  hoped  she  would  be  very 
good,  and  that  she  would  attend  to  her  book  and  read  a 
good  lesson.     '  Yes, '  she  said, '  and  I  will  eat  a  good  dinner. ' 

"21st. — Princess  Victoria  took  a  lesson.  She  seemed 
more  attentive,  and  persevered  for  nearly  an  hour. 

"  24th. — Princess  Victoria's  birthday,  therefore  no  lessons 
for  her.  Many  presents  made  to  her  on  the  occasion  were 
spread  on  a  table.  She  had  a  party  of  little  friends  in  the 
evening,  and,  as  I  afterwards  heard,  was  very  generous  in 
lending  and  giving  playthings  to  her  companions.  The 
King  sent  his  picture  set  in  diamonds. 

"28th. — The  Princess  Victoria  improves  in  reading, 
but  is  still  not  fond  of  keeping  her  eyes  long  together  on 
the  book.  I  have  observed  in  the  Princess  a  character 
of  particular  honesty,  a  willingness  to  confess  when  she 
has  done  wrong.  On  asking  her  whether  she  did  not  feel 
unhappy  when  she  had  done  wrong,  she  replied,  '  Oh  no ' ; 
and  some  days  afterwards,  when  her  mamma  said,  '  When 

55 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

you  are  naughty  you  make  both  me  and  yourself  very  un- 
happy/ she  rephed,  'No,  mamma,  not  me,  not  m3;se//, 
but  you.' 

"  My  httle  boy  fell  ill  of  the  measles,  and  I  therefore  did 
not  attend  at  the  palace  until  June  30.  The  little  Princess 
seemed  to  have  improved  rather  than  gone  back  during 
my  absence.  Princess  Feodore  had  taken  pains  with 
her. 

"July  1st. — A  lesson  of  two  hours  and  a  quarter  with 
Princess  Victoria  and  Princess  Feodore.  The  little  Prin- 
cess improves  in  attention.  She  attended  well  for  an  hour. 
I  was  glad  that  the  Duchess  asked  me  to  go  half  an  hour 
sooner  than  usual,  as  before  there  was  scarcely  time  enough 
to  do  much. 

"August  15th. — On  this  day  the  Duchess  and  her  suite 
went  to  Ramsgate  on  board  the  steam-packet  from  the 
Tower  at  eight  o'clock,  intending  to  stay  two  months,  so 
that  having  now  a  cessation  from  business,  and  not  having 
kept  any  daily  account  of  our  progress,  I  shall  here  write 
down  such  observations  as  have  occurred  to  me  during  the 
late  lessons.  The  Princess  is  volatile,  dislikes  fixing  her 
attention,  and  though  willing  to  listen  to  any  story  when 
read  to  her,  is  not  persevering  enough  to  try  to  make  out 
any  little  stories  for  herself,  though  she  very  easily  could. 
She  is  very  good-tempered  and  very  affectionate,  and  al- 
most cries  at  any  little  account  of  distress  which  her  little 
books  relate  She  is  much  pleased  with  stories  of  kindness 
to  animals,  and  shows  the  marks  of  a  tenderness  of  dis- 
position. She  is  so  young  that  much  progress  could  not 
be  expected.  Still,  upon  the  whole,  I  am  not  quite  satis- 
fied with  her  progress  in  reading,  though  she  advances  in 
knowledge. 

"October  6th. — The  Duchess  and  family  returned  from 
Ramsgate  on  the  2nd,  and  we  resumed  our  lessons  on  this 
day.  The  Princess  seemed  somewhat  less  averse  to  looking 
at  her  book. 

"Saturday,  October  nth. — I  attended  every  morning 
this  week,  excepting  on  this  day,  when  the  family  went  to 

56 


I'RINCESS    VICTORIA    AT    1  HE   AGE    OF    SIXIEEN 
(From  a  drawing  by  Sir  George  Hayter) 


EARLY    DAYS 

Claremont  to  Prince  Leopold  to  make  a  stay  of  some  weeks. 
It  was  agreed  that  I  should  go  over  twice  a  week. 

"October  14th. — I  went  to  Claremont  in  a  gig  belonging 
to  the  Duchess.  It  was  a  cold,  foggy  morning,  and  the 
Duchess  showed  much  kindness  and  fear  lest  I  should 
take  cold.  She  ordered  some  hot  tea  immediately,  and 
wrote  to  Kensington  to  give  orders  that  I  should  no  longer 
come  in  a  gig  without  a  head,  and  a  new  gig  was  accord- 
ingly ordered.  I  mention  this  to  show  the  kind  and  consid- 
erate disposition  of  her  Royal  Highness.  I  stayed  about 
two  hours,  and  the  princesses  took  their  lessons.  Prince 
Leopold  was  present,  and  joined  in  hearing  the  little  Prin- 
cess read  her  lesson.  She  can  spell  little  words  when  they 
are  sounded  to  her,  but  does  not  like  to  read  them  from  the 
book  herself.     At  this  the  Prince  seemed  mortified. 

"October  21st. — The  little  Princess  had  not  been  behav- 
ing well  in  the  morning,  and  the  Duchess  told  me  that 
she  was  afraid  we  should  not  have  a  good  lesson,  which 
proved  to  be  true.     The  Princess  was  very  inattentive. 

"24th. — A  pretty  good  lesson.  We  walked  to  Prince 
Leopold's  farm.  The  little  Princess  showed  a  great  desire 
to  see  the  farmer's  wife's  baby,  and  then  a  lamb,  and,  in 
short,  everything.  She  was,  of  course,  gratified.  She  is 
of  a  ver3^  affectionate  disposition. 

"  1824,  January  12th. — I  found  the  Duchess  returned  to 
Kensington.  She  was  so  obliging  as  to  present  me  with 
a  very  pretty  book.  The  Princess  Victoria  is  improving 
in  reading.     Miss  Lehzen  has  taken  great  pains  with  her. 

"June  15th. — During  the  long  time  that  I  have  omitted 
to  write  down  any  remarks  the  little  Princess  has  made 
verj''  considerable  progress  in  her  reading.  She  is  often 
much  amused  with  the  little  stories  in  her  books,  and  reads 
nursery  rhymes  with  great  spirit.  Her  eyes  are  much 
more  steadily  fixed  upon  her  book,  but  there  is  still  room 
for  improvement  in  this  respect.  She  can  write  very  well 
for  her  age  in  pencil.  Miss  Lehzen 's  management  of  the 
Princess  is  extremely  good.  She  allows  of  no  indulgence 
of  wrong  dispositions,   but  corrects  everything  like  re- 

57 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

sistance,  or  a  spirit  of  contradiction,  such  as  all  children 
will  indulge  if  they  can.  The  little  Princess  is,  however, 
of  a  most  amiable  disposition  and  very  affectionate.  An 
old  nurse  who  had  been  with  her  from  her  birth,  and  had 
now  left  her,  came  one  day  to  visit  her,  and  the  little  girl 
was  so  affected  at  the  sight  of  her  that  she  could  not  re- 
cover herself  for  some  hours,  shedding  tears  and  sobbing 
at  the  thoughts  of  her  '  dear  Boppy. ' 

"  1825,  April  6th. — The  Princess  Victoria  began  to  take 
lessons  of  a  writing-master,  Mr.  Steward.  I  had  previous- 
ly, however,  found  it  necessary,  for  the  sake  of  fixing  the 
attention  of  the  Princess,  to  teach  her  to  write,  and  she 
can  already  write  on  a  slate  short  sentences.  This  makes 
also  a  lesson  in  spelling.  I  have  not  lately  kept  a  journal, 
one  day  being  so  much  like  another,  but  continued  experi- 
ence convinces  me  of  the  delightful  disposition  of  the  child. 
She  is  also  quick  of  comprehension,  and  takes  an  inter- 
est in  the  accounts  which  she  reads ;  but  there  is  still  a 
great  reluctance  in  giving  that  attention  which  is  required 
to  master  difficulties.  The  Princess,  however,  is  under 
six  years  of  age,  and  consequently  much  cannot  be  ex- 
pected. I  have  endeavored  to  teach  the  Princess  a  little 
arithmetic.     She  can  now  read  with  tolerable  facility." 

The  diary  stops  here,  but  was  taken  up  again  from  Jan- 
uary I  to  April  25,  1837.  It  just  mentions  that  the  Princess 
is  reading  Hume,  Virgil,  Paradise  Lost,  Rokeby,  Bos  well's 
Life  of  Johnson,  Paley's  Moral  Philosophy,  President 
Jackson's  Message  to  Congress,  a  speech  by  Sir  Robert 
Peel  to  the  Glasgow  University,  and  the  Memoirs  of  Mrs. 
Lucy  Hutchinson,  but  there  are  no  observations,  except 
that  the  Princess  wished  they  had  hanged  Titus  Oates  and 
Bedloe  instead  of  Ireland  and  Coleman. 

Bishop  Davys  used  to  remark  on  the  Princess's  punctu- 
ality. However  interested  she  seemed  to  be  in  the  book, 
as  soon  as  the  clock  struck  she  would  stop  and  say,  "  Twelve 
o'clock,  Mr.  Dean."  There  is  still  a  letter  from  her,  writ- 
ten in  large  printed  characters,  "  My  dear  sir,  I  have  not 
forgotten  my  letters,  and  I  will  not  forget  you." 

58 


EARLY    DAYS 

The  Duchess  of  Cleveland,  who  was  the  life-long  friend 
of  Queen  Victoria,  was  good  enough  to  contribute  some 
of  her  personal  reminiscences  of  the  early  days  of  her 
late  Majesty.  They  have  never  before  been  made  public, 
and  are  of  special  interest  as  coming  from  one  of  the  very 
few  persons  lately  living  who  took  part  in  the  coronation 
ceremonies  of  1838.  They  also  possess  something  of  the 
charm  that  distinguished  their  author's  brilliant  conver- 
sation. The  Duchess  was  present  as  a  child  at  the  first 
ball  the  Princess  Victoria  attended ;  she  was  train-bearer 
to  the  sovereign  at  her  coronation,  and  was  one  of  the 
bridesmaids  at  her  wedding. 

The  following  note  refers  to  the  first  of  the  above  events, 
but  came  to  hand  too  late  to  be  inserted  in  its  proper  place : 

"  My  mother  always  told  me  that  the  Queen  and  I  used 
to  be  measured  together  as  little  children,  but  I  remember 
nothing  of  it. 

"  My  first  recollection  of  her  is  at  a  Court  ball  given  for 
the  Queen  of  Portugal.  I  wrote  (I  always  was  made  to 
write  in  French) :  '  Je  vis  a  cette  occasion  tres  bien  notre  fu- 
ture reine,  Victoria:  c'est  une  petite  princesse  qui  a  un 
visage  enfantin.  Ses  cheveux  sont  retrousses  derriere  les 
oreilles  a  I'allemande :  elle  portait  une  simple  robe  blanche, 
toute  unie:  et  un  fichu.  Son  cou  est  un  peu  epais;  elle 
n'est  pas  jolie,  du  reste. ' 

"This,  I  think,  always  remained  strictly  true.  The 
Queen  never,  at  any  time,  could  have  been  called  pretty ; 
but  when,  at  eighteen,  she  came  to  the  throne,  she  was 
distinctly  attractive :  her  small,  fair  head,  well  set  on  ex- 
tremely pretty  shoulders,  singularly  graceful  in  all  her 
movements,  with  a  great  charm  of  manner,  the  brightest 
and  gayest  of  smiles,  and  a  remarkably  clear  and  musical 
voice. 

"There  was  something  pathetic,  too,  in  her  extreme 
youthfulness :  her  face  had  still  the  flush  and  flower-like 
look  of  childhood,  from  which,  small  and  slim  as  she  was, 
she  might  easily  be  supposed  to  have  not  yet  emerged. 
Yet  this  little  figure  was  not  one  to  be  overlooked.     She 

59 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

had  so  much  natural  dignity,  and  such  an  air  of  distinc- 
tion, that  it  was  said  of  her — and,  I  think,  with  perfect 
truth — that  in  whatever  dress,  or  even  disguise,  she  might 
appear,  she  wovdd  ahvays  be  recognized  as  a  great  person- 
age when  she  came  into  the  room." 

Early  in  the  year  1837,  King  William  IV.  gave  a  mag- 
nificent fete  in  London  in  honor  of  the  Queen,  the  j^oung 
Princess  Victoria  going  to  pay  a  visit  of  congratulation  to 
her  Majesty.  She  was  reported  by  loyal  observers  on  this 
occasion  as  "in  high  health  and  spirits,  and  much  ad- 
1  mired  for  the  elegance  and  simplicity  of  her  manner." 

These  festivities  were  the  last  in  which  the  King  was 
fated  to  join.  The  cares  of  State  had  not  spared  him,  and 
it  was  believed  that  the  great  change  in  his  habits  had  done 
harm  to  his  health.  He  took  less  and  less  interest  in  State 
affairs,  and  seemed  to  do  everything  with  a  great  sense  of 
weariness.  He  suffered  pains  in  the  chest,  and  died  early 
in  the  morning  of  June  20,  1837,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
two,  after  having  reigned  nearly  seven  years.  It  was 
remembered  in  his  praise  that  at  the  time  of  danger  he 
had  been  able  to  steer  a  middle  course,  being  less  secluded 
than  George  IV.,  and  with  less  familiarity  than  was  to  be 
found  in  the  manners  of  Louis  Philippe. 


CHAPTER  II 

ACCESSION    AND    CORONATION 

In  the  small  hours  of  the  morning  of  June  20,  1837,  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  (Dr.  Howley)  and  the  Lord 
Chamberlain  (the  Marquis  Conyngham)  might  have  been 
seen  coming  post-haste  from  Windsor  to  London.  About 
five  o'clock  they  reached  Kensington,  shortly  after  day- 
break, and  made  their  way  through  the  gardens,  where 
the  dew  lay  thick  and  the  birds  were  singing  merrily,  to 
the  outer  gate  of  the  palace.  Nobody  was  astir,  and  we 
are  told  that  they  knocked  and  rang  and  thumped  for  a 
long  time  before  they  gained  admission. 

When  the  gate  was  at  last  opened,  the  two  lords  were 
left  waiting  in  one  of  the  ante-rooms  until  their  patience 
was  entirely  exhausted.  They  called  an  attendant,  and 
demanded  to  see  the  Princess  at  once.  Presently  one  of 
the  ladies-in-waiting  appeared  and  said  that  the  Princess 
was  still  asleep  and  must  not  be  wakened.  The  Lord 
Chamberlain  then  said,  "  We  are  come  on  business  of  State 
to  the  Queen,  and  even  her  sleep  must  give  way  to  that." 
This  startling  message  at  once  had  the  desired  effect. 

There  are  four  long  windows  on  the  first  floor  in  the  west 
wing  facing  south  at  Kensington  Palace.  They  are  the 
first  next  to  the  great  central  mass  of  the  building.  The 
one  farthest  to  the  west  was  the  little  room  which  was  used 
by  Baroness  Lelizen  as  a  study.  The  other  three  belonged 
to  the  bedroom  used  by  Queen  Victoria.  Just  beyond 
these  two  rooms  the  other  apartments  of  the  wing  belonged 
to  the  Duke  of  Sussex,  and  when  the  Princess  at  times  had 
been  inclined  to  be  too  noisy  the  Baroness  used  to  tell  her 
not  to  talk  so  loud  as  she  would  disturb  Uncle  Sussex. 

61 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

It  was  to  the  door  of  this  room  that  a  hurried  footstep 
came  early  in  the  morning  to  say  that  two  messengers 
had  arrived  from  Windsor  and  had  insisted  upon  an  im- 
mediate interview  with  the  Princess.  Onlj^  half  awake, 
she  heard  that  she  was  Queen,  for  King  William  had  died. 
Rising,  she  put  on  a  dressing-gown,  and  a  shawl  over 
her  shoulders,  and  slippers  on  her  feet,  and  went  down 
the  stairs  to  where  the  two  were  awaiting  her.  Lord 
Conyngham  knelt  down  before  the  little  figure  that  stood 
looking  so  slight,  with  her  hair  falling  down  over  her 
shoulders,  and  formally  presented  a  paper  announcing 
the  King's  death.  The  Archbishop  added  that  he,  on 
his  part,  had  been  asked  by  Queen  Adelaide  to  come  at 
once  to  Kensington,  as  it  was  thought  the  Queen,  as  he 
now  called  the  Princess  for  the  first  time,  would  like  to 
hear  how  peaceful  had  been  the  end  of  the  King. 

Meanwhile,  the  usual  messengers  had  been  despatched 
to  the  Privy  Councillors,  and  an  address,  assuring  the 
new  Queen  of  the  homage  of  her  subjects,  had  been  drawn 
up  and  taken  by  Mr.  Leonard,  the  chief  clerk,  to  Ken- 
sington. 

When  the  clerk  to  the  Privy  Council  was  introduced 
to  the  central  room,  facing  the  Round  Pond,  which,  like 
the  council  -  room  next  door,  has  a  ceiling  supported  by 
round  white  wooden  columns,  that  official  found  only 
six  persons  present,  among  whom  were  the  Duke  of 
Sussex,  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  and  Lord  Melbourne. 
Afterwards,  about  a  dozen  ministers,  prelates,  and  officials 
were  admitted.  The  address  was  read  aloud  and  signed 
by  the  Duke  of  Sussex,  when  the  doors  were  opened,  and 
a  young  lady,  small,  slight,  and  of  fair  complexion,  ap- 
parently about  fifteen  years  of  age,  appeared.  She  was 
dressed  in  a  close-fitting  dress  of  black  silk,  her  hair  parted 
and  drawn  from  her  forehead.  She  wore  no  ornaments 
whatever  on  her  dress  or  person.  The  Duke  of  Sussex 
advanced,  and  embraced  and  kissed  her.  Lord  Melbourne 
and  others  kissed  hands  in  the  usual  form,  and  the  usher 
took  the  address,  closed  the  folding-doors,  and  the  Queen 

62 


THE   QUEEN    RECEIVING    THE    NEWS    OF    HER   ACCESSION    AT    KENSINGTON 
PALACE,   JUNE    20,    I837 


10  .vmij 


ACCESSION    AND    CORONATION 

disappeared.  No  word  was  uttered  by  her  Majesty  or 
any  of  those  present,  and  no  sound  broke  the  silence  which 
seemed  to  add  to  the  impressive  solemnity  and  interest  of 
the  scene. 

This  was  all  very  soon  over,  and  the  first  council  met 
at  eleven  o'clock.  The  Queen  was  present  in  a  black 
dress,  although  Sir  David  Wilkie  thought  it  more  fitting 
to  the  purpose  of  his  picture  to  paint  her  in  white.  Her 
two  uncles  introduced  her  to  the  council-room,  w^here  a 
seat  had  been  prepared  for  her  at  the  end  of  a  table  which 
took  up  much  of  the  space  in  the  apartment. 

"  Never,"  said  Greville,  who  was  present,  "  was  anything 
like  the  first  impression  she  produced,  or  the  chorus  of 
praise  and  admiration  which  is  raised  about  her  man- 
ner and  behavior,  and  certainly  not  without  justice.  It 
was  very  extraordinary  and  something  far  beyond  what 
w^as  looked  for.  Her  extreme  youth  and  inexperience, 
and  the  ignorance  of  the  world  concerning  her,  naturally 
excited  intense  curiosity  to  see  how  she  would  act  on  this 
trying  occasion.  There  was  a  considerable  assembly 
at  the  palace,  notwithstanding  the  short  notice  which  was 
given  to  the  Privy  Councillors.  She  bowed  to  the  lords, 
took  her  seat,  and  then  read  her  speech  in  a  clear,  distinct, 
and  audible  voice,  and  without  any  appearance  of  fear  or 
embarrassment.  She  was  quite  plainly  dressed  and  in 
mourning.  After  she  had  read  her  speech  and  taken  and 
signed  the  oath  for  the  security  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
the  Privy  Councillors  were  sworn.  The  two  royal  dukes 
first  by  themselves — and  as  these  two  old  men,  her  uncles, 
knelt  before  her  swearing  allegiance  and  kissing  her  hand, 
I  saw  her  blush  up  to  her  ej'-es  as  if  she  felt  the  contrast 
between  her  civil  and  her  natural  relations.  This  was 
the  only  sign  of  emotion  which  she  evinced.  Her  manner 
to  them  was  very  graceful  and  engaging.  She  kissed 
them  both  and  rose  from  her  chair  and  moved  towards 
the  Duke  of  Sussex,  who  was  farthest  from  her  and  too 
infirm  to  reach  her.  She  seemed  rather  bewildered  at 
the  multitude  of  men  who  were  sworn,  and  w^ho  came  up 

63 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER   LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

one  after  another  to  kiss  her  hand,  but  she  did  not  speak 
to  anybod3^  nor  did  she  make  the  shghtest  difference  in 
her  manner  or  show  any  in  her  countenance  to  any  in- 
dividual of  any  rank,  station,  or  party.  I  particularly 
watched  her  and  Melbourne  and  the  ministers  when  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  and  Peel  approached  her.  She  went 
through  the  whole  ceremony — occasionally  looking  at 
Melbourne  for  instructions  when  she  had  any  doubt  what 
to  do,  which  hardljT^  ever  occurred — with  perfect  calmness 
and  self-possession,  but  at  the  same  time  with  a  graceful 
modesty  and  propriety  particularly  interesting  and  in- 
gratiating. When  the  business  was  done  she  retired  as 
she  had  entered.'' 

The  Queen's  address  at  this  first  council  was  as  follows : 

"The  severe  and  afflicting  loss  which  the  nation  has 
sustained  by  the  death  of  his  Majesty,  my  beloved  uncle, 
has  devolved  upon  me  the  duty  of  administering  the  govern- 
ment of  this  empire.  This  awful  responsibility  is  imposed 
on  me  so  suddenly,  and  at  so  early  a  period  of  my  life,  that 
I  should  feel  myself  utterly  oppressed  by  the  burden,  were 
I  not  sustained  by  the  hope  that  Divine  Providence,  which 
has  called  me  to  this  work,  will  give  me  strength  for  the 
performance  of  it,  and  that  I  shall  find,  in  the  purity  of 
my  intentions  and  in  my  zeal  for  the  public  welfare,  that 
support  and  those  resources  which  usually  belong  to  a 
more  mature  age  and  to  long  experience. 

"I  place  my  firm  reliance  on  the  wisdom  of  Parliament 
I  and  upon  the  loyalty  and  affection  of  my  people.  1  esteem 
f  it  also  a  peculiar  advantage  that  I  succeed  to  a  sovereign 
whose  constant  regard  for  the  rights  and  liberties  of  his 
subjects,  and  whose  desire  to  promote  the  amelioration  of 
I  the  laws  and  institutions  of  the  country,  have  rendered 
s^his  name  the  object  of  great  attachment  and  veneration. 

"  Educated  in  England,  under  the  tender  and  enlightened 
care  of  a  most  affectionate  mother,  1  have  learned  from 
my  infancy  to  respect  and  love  the  constitution  of  my 
native  country. 

"  [i  will  be  my  unceasing  study  to  maintain  the  Reformed 

64 


THE    QUEEN    PRESIDING    OVER    HER    FIRST    COUNCIL 
(From  a  painting  by  Sir  David  Wilkie,  R.A.) 


ACCESSION   AND    CORONATION 

religion  as  by  law  established,  securing  at  the  same  time 
to  all  the  full  enjoyment  of  religious  liberty;  and  I  shall 
steadily  protect  the  rights,  and  promote  to  the  utmost  of 
my  power  the  happiness  and  welfare  of  all  classes  of  my 
subjects." 

Peel  said  how  amazed  he  was  at  her  manner  and  be- 
havior, at  her  apparent  deep  sense  of  her  situation,  her 
modesty,  and  at  the  same  time  her  firmness.  She  ap- 
peared, in  fact,  to  be  awed,  but  not  daunted,  and  afterwards 
the  Duke  of  Wellington  said  the  same  thing,  and  added 
that  if  she  had  been  his  own  daughter  he  could  not  have 
desired  to  see  her  perform  her  part  better. 

Lord  Grey  wrote :  "  When  called  upon  for  the  first  time 
to  appear  before  the  Privy  Council  to  take  upon  herself 
the  awful  duties  with  which,  at  so  early  an  age,  she  had 
been  so  suddenly  charged,  there  was  in  her  appearance 
and  demeanor  a  composure,  a  propriety,  an  aplomb,  which 
were  quite  extraordinary.  She  never  was  in  the  least 
degree  confused,  embarrassed,  or  hurried.  She  read  the 
declaration  beautifully,  and  went  through  the  forms  of  busi- 
ness as  if  she  had  been  accustomed  to  them  all  her  life." 

Lord  Palmerston  also  declared  that  the  Queen  went 
through  her  task  with  great  dignity  and  self-possession. 
One  saw  she  felt  much  inward  emotion,  but  it  was  fully 
controlled.  Her  articulation  was  particularly  good,  her 
voice  remarkably  easy. 

In  the  Life  of  Dean  Stanley  the  following  account  is 
given  of  the  Queen's  own  version  of  the  news  of  her  acces- 
sion, as  given  to  the  Dean : 

"  It  was  thus :  About  6  A.M.  mamma  came  and  called 
me,  and  said  I  must  go  and  see  Lord  Conyngham  directly 
— alone.  I  got  up,  put  on  my  dressing-gown,  and  went 
into  a  room,  where  I  found  Lord  Conyngham  and  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury.  Lord  Conyngham  knelt,  kissed 
my  hand,  and  gave  me  the  certificate  of  the  King's  death. 

"  In  an  hour  from  that  time  Baron  Stockmar  came.  He 
had  been  sent  over  by  King  Leopold  on  hearing  of  the 
dangerous  illness.  At  2  P.M.  that  same  day  I  went  to  the 
E  65 


VICTORIA  R.  I.      HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

council,  led  by  my  two  uncles,  the  King  of  Hanover  and 
the  Duke  of  Cambridge. 

"  Lord  Melbourne  was  very  useful  to  me,  but  I  can  never 
be  sufl&ciently  thankful  that  I  passed  safely  through  those 
two  years  to  my  marriage.  Then  I  was  in  a  safe  haven, 
and  there  I  remained  for  twenty  years.  Now  that  is  over, 
and  I  am  again  at  sea,  always  wishing  to  consult  one  who 
is  not  here,  groping  by  myself  with  a  constant  sense  of 
desolation." 

The  ceremonies  on  the  accession  of  a  sovereign  follow 
quickly  one  after  the  other.  On  the  next  day  the  Queen 
had  to  go  to  St.  James's  to  witness  herself  proclaimed  by 
the  heralds  to  a  great  crowd  in  the  court-yard  beneath,  who 
cheered  most  heartily.  But  those  who  stood  nearest  were 
thrilled  more  deeply  when  they  looked  at  the  central  figure 
of  that  great  assemblage  and  saw  that  the  tears  were  fall- 
ing fast  from  the  young  Queen's  eyes. 

"  She  saw  no  purple  shine. 

For  tears  had  dimmed  her  eyes; 
She  only  knew  her  childhood's  flowers 

Were  happier  pageantries! 
And  while  the  heralds  played  their  part 
Those  million  shouts  to  drown — 
*  God  Save  the  Queen,'  from  hill  to  mart — 
She  heard  through  all  her  beating  heart. 
And  turned  and  wept; 
She  wept  to  wear  a  crown. 

"  God  bless  thee,  weeping  Queen, 

With  blessings  more  divine. 
And  fill  with  better  love  than  earth 

That  tender  heart  of  thine; 
That  when  the  thrones  of  earth  shall  be 

As  low  as  graves  brought  down, 
A  pierced  Hand  may  give  to  thee 
The  crown  which  angels  shout  to  see. 

Thou  wilt  not  weep 
To  wear  that  heavenly  crown." 

—Mrs.  Browning. 
66 


ACCESSION    AND    CORONATION 

Staying  in  town  vshe  had  to  preside  over  another  council 
a  few  hours  later.  "She  presided,"  wrote  one  who  was 
present,  "  with  as  much  ease  as  if  she  had  been  doing  noth- 
ing else  all  her  life,  and  though  Lord  Lansdowne  and  mj^ 
colleague  had  tried  between  them  to  make  some  confusion 
of  the  council  papers,  she  was  not  put  out  by  it.  She 
looked  very  well,  and  though  so  small  in  stature,  and  with- 
out much  pretension  to  beauty,  the  gracefulness  of  her 
manner  and  the  good  expression  of  her  countenance  gave 
her,  on  the  whole,  a  very  agreeable  appearance;  and, 
with  her  youth,  inspired  an  excessive  interest  in  all  who 
approach  her,  which  I  cannot  help  feeling  myself."  After 
the  council  she  received  the  archbishops  and  bishops, 
and  after  them  the  judges. 

Another  wrote :  "  The  Bishop  of  London  said  that  when 
the  bishops  were  first  presented  to  the  Queen  she  received 
them  with  all  possible  dignity  and  then  retired.  She 
passed  through  a  glass  door,  and,  forgetting  its  transpar- 
ency, was  seen  to  run  off  like  the  girl  she  is.  This  is  just 
as  it  should  be.  If  she  had  not  now  the  high  spirits  of 
a  girl  of  eighteen,  we  should  have  less  reason  to  hope 
she  would  turn  out  a  sensible  woman  at  thirty."  Lord 
Conyngham,  when  he  told  her  of  the  King's  death,  had 
brought  a  request  from  the  Queen  Dowager  that  she  might 
be  permitted  to  remain  at  Windsor  till  after  the  funeral. 
The  Queen  sent,  in  reply,  a  letter  couched  in  the  kindest 
terms,  begging  her  to  consult  nothing  but  her  own  health 
and  convenience,  and  to  remain  at  Windsor  just  as  long 
as  she  pleased.  "  In  short,  she  appears  to  act  with  every 
sort  of  good  taste  and  good  feeling,  as  well  as  good  sense, 
and,  as  far  as  it  has  gone,  nothing  can  be  more  favorable 
than  the  impression  she  has  made;  nothing  can  promise 
better  than  her  manner  and  conduct.  The  young  Queen, 
who  might  well  be  either  dazzled  or  confounded  with  the 
grandeur  and  novelty  of  her  situation,  seems  neither  the 
one  nor  the  other,  and  behaves  with  a  propriety  and  deco- 
rum beyond  her  years." 

It  was  at  Windsor  that  the  obsequies  of  William  IV.  were 

67 


VICTORIA  R.  I.      HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

perfonned.  The  coffin  lay  in  State,  covered  with  a  crimson 
pall,  in  the  Waterloo  Chamber.  The  two  crowns  of  Eng- 
land and  Hanover  lay  on  it,  with  a  great  purple  canopy 
above.  The  banners  of  the  two  German  States,  Hanover 
and  Brunswick,  hung  around  those  of  the  British  king- 
doms. The  gentlemen-at-arms,  the  yeomen  of  the  guard, 
and  the  lords  of  the  bedchamber,  guarded  the  body  thus 
gorgeously  surrounded.  On  the  day  he  was  to  be  laid  to 
rest  a  procession  was  marshalled  in  St.  George's  Hall, 
and,  taken  out  into  the  upper  ward,  was  brought  through 
the  Nonnan  Gateway  to  the  music  of  the  "Dead  March" 
down  to  St.  George's  Chapel.  A  purple  canopy  above  the 
coffin  was  borne  by  ten  peers,  sixteen  admirals  and  gen- 
eral officers.  Six  dukes,  of  whom  Wellington  was  one,  and 
four  eldest  sons  of  dukes  supported  a  purple  velvet  pall, 
ornamented  with  the  escutcheons  of  the  imperial  arms. 
Wellington  stood  with  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  near  the  chief 
mourner,  who  was  the  old  Duke  of  Sussex,  in  red  uni- 
form and  black  skull  cap.  Prince  George  of  Cambridge, 
then  a  lad,  was  present,  as  he  was  sixty-four  years  later 
as  a  field-marshal,  in  the  last  dread  but  beautiful  cere- 
mony of  February,  1901. 

Kensington  Palace  was  to  know  the  Queen  no  more  as  a 
resident.  Buckingham  Palace  was  to  be  her  London  home. 
Great  crowds  assembled  wherever  she  went,  and  the  first 
great  State  ceremonial  which  gave  her  people  an  opportu- 
nity to  see  her  as  sovereign  was  the  dissolution  of  Parlia- 
ment, to  which  she  went  in  a  State  carriage,  clothed  in 
white,  a  lofty  tiara  of  diamonds  on  her  head,  and  the  blue 
ribbon  of  the  Garter  across  her  chest.  Lord  Melbourne 
stood  at  her  side  while  she  was  seated  on  the  throne.  She 
declared  her  sense  of  the  deep  responsibility  imposed  upon 
her,  adding :  "  I  am  supported  by  the  consciousness  of  my 
own  right  intentions,  and  by  my  dependence  upon  the  pro- 
tection of  Almighty  God.  It  will  be  my  care  to  strengthen 
our  institutions,  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  by  discreet  im- 
provement, and  to  do  all  in  my  power  to  compose  and  allay 
animosity  and  discord.     Acting  upon  these  principles,  I 

68 


ACCESSION    AND    CORONATION 

shall,  upon  all  occasions,  look  with  confidence  to  the  wis- 
dom of  Parliament,  and  the  affection  of  my  people,  which 
form  the  true  support  of  the  dignity  of  the  crown  and  in- 
sure the  stability  of  the  constitution." 

King  Leopold  came  to  pay  her  a  visit  at  Windsor  soon 
afterwards.  Sir  Charles  Murray  wrote  of  this  visit:  "1 
was  presented  and  kissed  hands,  after  which  I  joined  the 
cavalcade  consisting  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  equestrians, 
and  we  made  a  promenade  about  the  Great  Park  for  about 
two  hours.  There  was  little  or  no  formal  ceremony  ob- 
served as  to  precedence.  The  Queen  rode  generally  in 
front,  accompanied  by  the  Queen  of  the  Belgians,  the  King, 
and  the  Duchess  of  Kent.  And  now  and  then  she  called 
up  Lord  Cowper,  Wellington,  or  Melbourne  to  ride  beside 
her.  Her  Majesty's  seat  on  horseback  is  easy  and  grace- 
ful, and  the  early  habit  of  command  observable  in  all  her 
movements  and  gestures  is  agreeably  relieved  by  the 
gentle  tone  of  voice  and  the  natural  playfulness  with  which 
she  addresses  her  relatives  and  the  ladies  about  her.  I 
never  saw  a  more  quick  or  observant  eye.  In  the  course 
of  the  ride  it  glanced  occasionally  over  every  individual 
of  the  party,  and  I  am  sure  that  neither  absence  nor  impro- 
priety of  any  kind  could  escape  detection.  At  half-past 
seven  the  guests  and  the  household  again  met  her  Majesty 
in  the  corridor,  and  we  proceeded  to  dinner,  the  arrange- 
ments for  which  were  handsome  and  without  parade.  The 
ladies  retired  to  the  drawing-room,  and  we  followed  in  a 
quarter  of  an  hour.  The  band  was  in  attendance  at  and 
after  dinner,  and  played  some  excellent  music,  the  chief 
of  which  was  by  Rossini  and  Bellini.  During  the  evening 
her  Majesty  conversed  with  her  principal  guests.  She 
also  played  two  games  of  draughts  with  the  Queen  of  the 
Belgians,  both  of  which  she  gained.  There  was  a  whist 
table  at  which  were  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  the  King  of  the 
Belgians,  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  and  Lilford." 

On  another  day  he  says :  "  We  rode  out  at  four  o'clock 
and  went  rather  slowly,  and  had  but  a  short  ride.  Our 
young  Queen's  manner  to  King  Leopold  is  most  respectful 

69 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

and  affectionate.  Indeed,  her  manner  to  every  one  about 
her  is  perfectly  winning  and  appropriate,  and  her  coun- 
tenance lights  up  with  the  most  agreeable  and  intelligent 
expression  possible.  On  Sunday  we  accompanied  her 
Majesty  to  the  chapel,  and  the  party  included  her  royal 
visitors  as  well  as  the  Chancellor,  the  Premier,  the  Master 
of  the  Horse,  etc.  In  the  afternoon  she  took  a  short  ride 
in  the  Great  Park,  and  I  went  out  on  the  terrace,  which 
presented  a  very  gay  and  beautiful  appearance,  as  the 
bands,  both  of  the  Grenadiers  and  Life  Guards,  were 
playing  near  the  new  fountain,  and  all  the  officers  of 
the  new  regiments,  as  well  as  the  belles  of  Windsor 
and  the  neighborhood,  were  enjoying  their  holiday 
promenade. 

"At  dinner  I  had  a  very  interesting  conversation  with 
Baroness  Lehzen,  who  has  been  for  many  years  her 
Majesty's  governess.  I  know  of  nothing  more  creditable 
to  herself,  or  to  her  illustrious  pupil,  than  the  fact  that  one 
of  the  first  acts  of  her  reign  was  to  secure  the  Baroness  a 
situation  about  her  own  person.  The  Queen  treats  her 
with  the  most  kind  and  affectionate  confidence.  I  am 
told  that  all  the  Queen's  private  correspondence  was  care- 
fully copied  by  the  Baroness  before  and  since  coming  to 
the  throne,  but  that  since  her  Majesty's  accession  she  has 
not  shown  her  one  letter  of  cabinet  or  State  documents, 
nor  has  she  spoken  to  her,  nor  to  any  woman,  about  or 
upon  party  or  political  questions.  As  Queen  she  reser^^es 
1  all  her  confidences  for  her  official  advisers,  while  as  a  wom- 
lan  she  is  as  frank,  gay,  and  unreserved  as  when  she  was  a 
young  girl.  I  had  a  long  conversation  with  her  on  the  24th, 
while  riding,  chiefly  on  the  subject  of  modern  languages. 
Her  conversation  is  very  agreeable.  Both  her  ideas 
I  and  her  language  are  natural  and  original,  while  there 
is  latent  independence  of  mind.  Her  strength  of  judg- 
ment is  discernible  through  the  feminine  gentleness  of  tone 
in  which  her  voice  is  pitched.  Every  day  that  I  have 
passed  here  has  increased  mj^  admiration  for  the  excellent 
judgment  shown  by  Madame  Lehzen  in  her  education,  and 

70 


ACCESSION    AND    CORONATION 

for  the  amiable  and  grateful  feeling  evinced  by  the  Queen 
towards  her  governess.     It  does  the  highest  honor  to  both. 

"  There  is  another  person  in  the  household  whose  charac- 
ter it  is  not  easy  to  penetrate  or  to  describe — viz..  Baron 
Stockmar.  He  is  certainly  possessed  of  great  abilities, 
and  is  silent  and  reserved,  while  his  general  state  of  health 
seems  almost  to  preclude  the  possibility  of  his  being  lively 
or  communicative.  At  dinner  he  eats  nothing,  and  talks 
less  than  he  eats;  but  I  observe  he  holds  quiet  conversa- 
tions with  Lords  Melbourne  and  Palmerston  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  I  should  think  it  likely  that  he  was  much  in  the 
confidence  of  the  Queen.  He  is  a  most  intimate  friend  of 
the  King  of  the  Belgians. 

"  A  day  or  two  ago  the  Queen  inspected  the  Life  Guards 
and  Grenadiers  on  horseback,  accompanied  by  the  Duchess 
of  Kent,  Lords  Hill,  Conyngham,  and  the  rest  of  her  suite. 
She  was  dressed  in  a  habit  of  Windsor  uniform,  and  wore 
a  military  cap  with  a  gold  band  passing  under  the  chin. 
As  the  several  companies  and  squadrons  passed  and  saluted 
her,  she  raised  her  hand  and  returned  the  salute  of  each, 
and  the  grave  earnestness  of  her  manner,  as  well  as  the 
graceful  self-possession  of  her  attitude,  struck  me  par- 
ticularly." 

Greville  thought  the  new  Queen  inclined  to  be  liberal, 
but  at  the  same  time  prudent,  with  regard  to  money,  for 
when  the  Queen  Dowager  proposed  to  her  to  take  her  band 
into  her  service,  she  declined  to  incur  so  great  an  expense 
without  further  consideration;  and  one  of  the  first  things 
she  spoke  to  Melbourne  about  was  the  payment  of  her 
father's  debts. 

"George  Villiers,  who  came  from  Windsor  on  Monday, 
told  me  he  had  been  extremely  struck  with  Lord  Melbourne's 
manner  to  the  Queen  and  hers  to  him — his  so  parental  and 
anxious,  but  always  so  respectful  and  deferential,  hers 
indicative  of  such  entire  confidence  and  such  pleasure  in 
his  society.  She  is  constantly  talking  to  him,  let  who  will 
be  there.  He  always  sits  next  her  at  dinner,  evidently  by 
arrangement,   because  he  always  takes  in  the  lady-in- 

71 


VICTORIA  R.  T.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

waiting,  which  necessarily  places  him  next  to  her,  the  eti- 
quette being  that  the  lady-in-waiting  sits  next  but  one  to 
the  Queen.  It  is  not  unnatural,  and  to  him  it  is  peculiarly 
interesting.  I  have  no  doubt  he  is  passionately  fond  of 
her,  as  he  might  be  of  his  own  daughter  if  he  had  one,  and 
the  more  because  he  is  a  man  with  a  capacity  for  loving 
without  having  anything  in  the  world  to  love.  It  has 
become  his  providence  to  educate,  instruct,  and  form  the 
most  interesting  mind  and  character  in  the  world.  No 
occupation  was  ever  more  engrossing  or  involved  greater 
responsibility.  I  have  no  doubt  Melbourne  is  both  equal 
to  and  worthy  of  the  task,  and  that  it  is  fortunate  that  she 
has  fallen  into  his  hands,  and  that  he  discharges  this  great 
duty  wisely,  honorably,  and  conscientiously. 

"There  are,  however,  or  rather  may  be  hereafter,  in- 
conveniences in  the  establishment  of  such  an  intimacy 
and  in  a  connection  of  so  close  and  affectionate  a  nature 
between  a  young  Queen  and  her  Minister;  for  whenever 
the  government,  which  hangs  by  a  thread,  shall  be  broken 
up,  the  parting  will  be  painful,  and  their  subsequent  re- 
lations will  not  be  without  embarrassment  to  themselves, 
nor  fail  to  be  the  cause  of  jealousy  in  others.  It  is  a  great 
proof  of  the  discretion  and  purity  of  his  conduct  and  be- 
havior that  he  is  admired,  respected,  and  liked  by  all  the 
Court." 

From  Windsor  the  Queen  proceeded  to  Brighton,  where 
she  stayed  a  few  weeks  at  the  quaint  Pavilion  with  its 
many  domes  and  minarets,  returning  to  London  in  No- 
vember. 

The  Lord  Mayor's  Day  this  year  was  notable,  in  that  the 
reigning  monarch  took  part  in  the  festivities.  The  royal 
procession  from  St.  James's  Palace  to  the  Guildhall  in- 
cluded two  hundred  carriages,  was  a  mile  and  a  half  long, 
and  took  two  hours  and  a  half  on  the  way.  At  the  banquet 
the  Queen  proposed  the  health  of  the  Lord  Mayor,  upon 
whom  she  conferred  a  baronetcy,  in  addition  to  knighting 
the  two  sheriffs,  one  of  whom  was  Mr.  Moses  Montefiore, 
the  first  Jew  who  ever  received  the  honor  in  England. 

72 


ACCESSION   AND   CORONATION 

On  the  20lh  of  the  same  month  the  Queen  opened 
her  first  Parliament,  which  during  its  session  voted  the 
sum  of  £385,000  as  the  annual  income  of  the  monarch. 
We  have  already  mentioned  that  the  first  use  made  by  the 
Queen  of  this  money  was  to  pay  all  her  father's  debts,  and 
it  is  said  that  her  mother  met  with  a  pleasant  surprise  one 
morning  by  finding  on  her  breakfast-table  receipted  bills 
for  all  her  outstanding  accounts.  In  the  mean  time  the 
Queen  was  learning  more  and  more  how  much  in  the  way 
of  actual  work  was  involved  in  her  high  position. 

The  following  lines  were  copied  out  by  the  late  Mrs. 
Smith,  of  Jordanhill,  in  April,  1840.  They  were  probably 
written  just  after  the  Queen's  accession;  the  author  is 
unknown : 

"  Pray  for  your  Queen!  upon  your  Sovereign's  brow 

Youth  lingers  still,  nor  has  experience  there 

Written  her  duties  in  the  lines  of  care. 
The  hand  that  holds  fair  England's  sceptre  now 

Is  but  a  gentle  maiden's :  can  it  clasp 

That  mighty  symbol  with  a  steady  grasp? 
Dark  clouds  are  lowering  o'er  our  sunny  sky : 

If  they  should  gather,  could  that  fragile  form 
'  Ride  on  the  whirlwind  and  direct  the  storm?' 
Wisdom,  strength,  energy,  are  from  on  high — 

Wouldst  thou  enrich  her  with  these  blessings?  pray; 

One  reigns  above  that  heaven  and  earth  obey. 

"  Pray  for  your  Queen!  hers  is  a  woman's  heart. 

And  woman's  perils  lurk  around  her  way; 

Pleasure  may  lead  her  heedless  steps  astray. 
Or  flattery  soothe  when  conscience  wings  its  dart. 

Love,  that  sweet  well-spring  of  domestic  joy. 

Scarce  rises  in  a  Court  without  alloy; 
And  woman's  sorrows  may  be  hers  to  share 

Sunshine  hath  beamed  upon  her  path  thus  far. 

But  this  bright  scene  one  sudden  storm  would  mar. 
And  England's  Rose  might  droop,  though  now  so  fair. 

Say,  wouldst  thou  shield  her  from  these  perils?  pray; 

Strength  shall  be  granted  equal  to  her  day." 

73 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

And  now  it  was  time  for  the  Queen  to  be  crowned.  This 
took  place  on  Thursday,  June  28,  1838.  It  was  remarked 
that  it  was  the  first  time  that  the  British  people  had  had 
occasion  to  crown  a  young  and  pretty  woman.  Queen 
Anne  had  suffered  from  gout  and  had  become  middle- 
aged,  so  that  at  the  time  of  her  crowning  she  could  neither 
walk  far  nor  stand  long.  Queen  Elizabeth  was  a  good 
deal  older  when  she  succeeded. 

It  was  resolved  that  befitting  pomp  should  accompany 
so  novel  a  situation;  but  the  government  had  had  a  con- 
siderable deficit  in  their  annual  budget,  and  so  they  in- 
tended to  make  the  ceremony  as  brief  as  possible.  Lord 
Fitzwilliam,  in  the  House  of  Lords,  made  a  speech  in  which 
he  implied  that  a  great  deal  of  show  on  such  an  occasion 
was  only  fit  for  a  barbarous  age.  But  he  found  no  response 
in  the  assembly  he  addressed.  Nevertheless,  Lord  Mel- 
bourne was  persuaded  to  forego  some  of  those  observances 
which  had  been  carried  out  when  George  IV.  became  King, 
such  as  the  walking  procession  of  all  the  estates  of  the 
realm,  and  the  great  banquet  in  Westminster  Hall.  It 
was  remembered  that  on  the  last  feast,  as  soon  as  the  chief 
personages  had  quitted  their  seats,  a  rush  had  been  made 
by  the  well-dressed  people  in  the  stands  and  galleries  to 
despoil  the  tables  of  some  of  the  small  plate,  which  was 
carried  away  as  souvenirs. 

The  tradesmen  remonstrated  at  the  proposed  curtail- 
ment, but  were  assured  there  would  be  sufficient  ceremony 
to  attract  crowds  and  to  make  the  pvirchase  of  costumes 
necessary.  The  famous  Marshal  Soult,  who  had  opposed 
our  troops  so  vigorously  in  the  Peninsula,  was  sent  as 
Ambassador  from  the  King  of  France,  and  brought  over 
with  him  a  State  carriage  that  had  been  used  by  the  Prince 
of  Conde.  At  a  party  given  by  the  Duke  of  Sutherland  at 
Stafford  House,  Soult  met  his  old  opponent,  the  Duke  of 
Wellington,  who  asked  him  to  come  with  him  to  see  the 
pictures  in  the  gallery.  Taking  Soult's  arm,  the  Duke 
led  him  to  where,  enshrined  in  gorgeous  frames,  were  two 
famous  pieces  of  "loot"  that  Soult  had  taken  from  the 

74 


THE   QUEEN    AT    THE    AGE   OF    NINETEEN    IN    HER    ROBES    OF    STATE 
(From  the  painting  by  Sir  George  Hayter) 


ACCESSION    AND    CORONATION 

galleries  of  Madrid — viz.,  the  two  splendid  paintings  by 
Murillo,  the  one  representing  the  visit  of  the  three  angels 
to  Abraham,  and  the  other,  more  striking  in  color  and  in 
composition,  the  return  of  the  prodigal  son.  Soult  was 
much  interested  in  seeing  his  plunder  thus  worthily  set 
among  masterpieces  of  the  great  European  schools. 
Murillo's  paintings  had  been  captured  by  the  allies  at 
the  occupation  of  Paris,  and,  having  been  put  up  for  sale, 
had  thus  found  their  way  to  England. 

Soult's  was  not  the  only  remarkable  carriage  in  the 
coronation  procession,  for  the  Duke  of  Devonshire  had  a 
gorgeous  vehicle  which  had  been  built  when  he  went  as 
Envoy  Extraordinary  to  St.  Petersburg. 

The  procession  formed  near  Buckingham  Palace  and 
started  at  lo  A.M.,  with  trumpeters  and  a  squadron  of  the 
Household  Brigade.  Then  followed  foreign  ambassadors 
and  ministers,  bands,  more  cavalry,  and  the  carriages  of 
the  Duchesses  of  Kent  and  Gloucester,  the  Duke  and  Duch- 
ess of  Cambridge,  and  the  Duke  of  Sussex,  more  mounted 
bands,  and  the  Queen's  barge-master  and  nearly  fifty 
watermen,  these  preceding  twelve  roj^al  carriages  con- 
veying the  household.  Then  more  cavalry  and  more 
music,  and  the  staff  and  distinguished  officers ;  the  Royal 
Huntsmen,  the  Yeomen  Prickers  and  Foresters,  the  Yeo- 
men of  the  Guard  and  their  officers.  Then,  in  her  State 
carriage,  drawn  by  eight  cream-colored  horses,  the  Queen. 
She  was  followed  by  the  captain  of  the  Royal  Archer 
Guard  of  Scotland,  and  cavalry. 

Proceeding  along  Constitution  Hill,  Piccadilly,  down 
St.  James's  Street  to  Pall  Mall  and  Charing  Cross,  the 
procession  wended  its  way  to  Whitehall  and  Parliament 
Street,  and  thence  to  the  west  door  of  Westminster  Abbey. 
Galleries  had  been  raised  to  hold  four  hundred  persons — 
a  small  provision  compared  with  that  of  the  Jubilee  time. 
A  temporary  organ  and  orchestra  had  been  placed  at  the 
west  end  of  the  choir.  Upon  an  open  colonnade  of  pointed 
arches  another  gallery  at  the  east  end  beyond  the  altar  was 
arranged  for  six  hundred  persons,  and  reserved  for  the  Com- 

75 


\ 


VICTORIA  R.  I.  HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

mons.  Two  more  galleries  above  St.  Edward's  Chapel 
provided  space  among  others  for  the  trumpeters.  Above 
the  sacrarium  were  boxes  for  the  sovereign,  the  Earl  Mar- 
shal, the  ambassadors,  and  the  Lord  Chamberlain.  The 
peeresses  were  in  the  north  transept,  the  peers  in  the  south, 
the  judges  and  Knights  of  the  Bath  and  aldermen  in  the 
choir,  the  bishops  on  the  floor  to  the  north  with  the  clergy 
of  Westminster,  and  the  royal  family  opposite.  The  royal 
box  was  filled  with  relatives  from  abroad.  The  clergy 
headed  the  procession,  followed  by  heralds  and  household 
officers,  then  prelates  and  officers  of  State,  then  the  Duchess 
of  Cambridge,  wearing  a  robe  of  purple  velvet,  her  train 
borne  by  a  lady.  After  her  the  Duchess  of  Kent.  Both 
these  royal  duchesses  wore  a  circlet  on  their  heads,  having 
their  coronets  borne  before  them.  Of  the  regalia,  the  St. 
Edward's  staff  was  carried  by  the  Duke  of  Roxburghe, 
the  golden  spurs  by  Lord  Byron,  the  sceptre  with  the  cross 
by  the  Duke  of  Cleveland,  a  third  sword  by  the  Marquis  of 
Westminster,  the  curtana  by  the  Duke  of  Devonshire,  and 
the  second  sword  by  the  Duke  of  Sutherland.  The  coronets 
of  these  noblemen  were  carried  by  pages.  After  the  Black 
Rod,  the  Deputy  Garter,  and  the  Lord  Great  Chamberlain 
of  England  came  the  Duke  of  Cambridge  in  his  robes  of  State 
with  his  baton  of  field-marshal,  his  coronet  borne  by  the 
Marquis  of  Granby,  his  train  bj^  General  Sir  William  Gomm. 
The  Duke  of  Sussex  in  his  robes  of  State  followed,  his  coro- 
net borne  by  Viscount  Anson,  his  train  by  Edward  Gore  and 
Lord  Coke.  Then  came  the  Duke  of  Leinster  as  High  Con- 
stable of  Ireland,  the  Earl  of  Errol  as  High  Constable  of 
Scotland,  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  as  Earl  Marshal,  with  his 
baton,  and  the  Duke  of  Wellington  as  Lord  High  Constable 
of  England,  with  his  staff  and  field-marshal's  baton.  The 
sword  of  State  was  borne  by  Viscount  Melbourne,  and  the 
sceptre  with  the  dove  by  the  Duke  of  Richmond ;  St.  Ed- 
ward's crown  by  the  Duke  of  Hamilton,  the  orb  by  the  Duke 
of  Somerset,  the  patina  by  the  Bishop  of  Bangor,  the  Bible 
by  the  Bishop  of  Winchester,  and  the  chalice  by  the  Bishop 
of  Lincoln.     They  preceded  the  Queen,  who  wore  a  royal 

76 


ACCESSION    AND    CORONATION 

robe  of  crimson  velvet,  furred  with  ermine  and  bordered 
with  gold  lace,  the  collars  of  the  orders  of  the  Garter,  Thistle, 
Bath,  and  St.  Patrick,  and  a  circlet  of  gold. 

Her  Majesty  was  supported  on  either  side  by  the  Bishops 
of  Bath  and  Wells  and  Durham.  Her  train  was  borne  by 
the  Ladies  Adelaide  Paget,  Frances  Cowper,  Anne  Fitz- 
william,  Mary  Grimstone,  Caroline  Lennox,  Mary  Talbot, 
Wilhelmina  Stanhope,  and  Louisa  Jenkinson,  assisted  by 
ihe  Lord  Chamberlain,  Lord  Conyngham,  followed  by  the 
Groom  of  the  Robes,  Captain  Francis  Seymour,  with  ten 
gentlemen-at-arms  on  either  side,  with  their  lieutenant, 
standard  bearer,  clerk  of  the  check,  and  harbinger.  After 
these  came  the  Duchess  of  Sutherland,  Mistress  of  the 
Robes;  Lady  Lansdowne,  First  Lady  of  the  Bedchamber; 
the  other  ladies  of  the  bedchamber — Ladies  Normanby, 
Tavistock,  Charlemont,  Lyttelton,  Barham,  and  Portman ; 
the  maids  of  honor — the  Hon.  Margaret  Dillon,  Harriet 
Pitt,  Caroline  Cox,  Matilda  Paget,  and  the  Misses  Murray, 
Cavendish,  Spring  Rice,  and  Lister;  the  women  of  the 
bedchamber  —  Ladies  Forbes,  Digby,  Clive,  Barrington, 
Copley,  and  Gardiner,  and  the  Hon.  Mesdames  Campbell 
and  Brand.  Then  came  the  Gold  Stick  of  the  Life  Guards, 
Field-Marshal  Combermere ;  Master  of  the  Horse  the  Earl 
of  Albemarle,  Captain-General  of  the  Royal  Archer  Guard 
of  Scotland,  Captains  of  the  Yeomen  of  the  Guard,  gentle- 
men-at-arms, lords-in-waiting,  and  a  number  of  others. 

The  sight  in  the  Abbey  was  brilliant  in  the  extreme.  Gal- 
leries had  been  erected  in  the  aisles,  and  above  ten  thou- 
sand of  the  greatest  and  most  famous  people  in  the  land 
were  present.  The  array  of  fine  dresses  and  of  jewels  is 
said  to  have  been  dazzling  in  the  extreme.  The  Austrian 
minister  seems  to  have  surpassed  every  one  else  in  mag- 
nificence, and  was  literally  covered  with  jewels  down  to 
the  heels  of  his  boots.  A  lady  who  was  present  wrote  that 
he  looked  "  as  though  he  had  been  snowed  upon  with  pearls, 
and  had  also  been  caught  out  in  a  rain  of  diamonds,  and 
had  come  in  dripping  1" 

As  the  Queen  entered  the  Abbey,  preceded  by  the  officers 

77 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

of  State  bearing  the  regalia,  the  anthem,  "I  was  glad  when 
they  said  unto  me.  Let  us  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord," 
rang  through  the  long  arches,  and  echoed  back  from  the 
distant  roof,  while  the  booming  of  cannon  could  be  faintly 
heard  from  without.  Next  came  the  national  anthem, 
and  then  a  deep  hush  as  the  Queen  knelt  before  the  altar 
for  a  few  moments  in  silent  prayer.  When  she  rose,  the 
boys  of  Westminster  School,  acting  upon  ancient  right, 
chanted  "Victoria,  Victoria,  Vivat  Victoria  Regina,"  and 
then  came  the  Recognition.  This  was  a  very  striking 
ceremony.  The  Queen  and  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
turned  to  the  four  quarters  of  the  compass,  and  the  prelate 
called  out  in  each  direction,  "  Sirs,  I  here  present  unto  you 
Queen  Victoria,  the  undoubted  Queen  of  this  realm ;  where- 
fore, all  you  who  are  come  this  day  to  do  your  homage,  are 
you  willing  to  do  the  same?"  To  each  of  these  challenges 
the  people  addressed  made  answer,  "God  save  Queen  Vic- 
toria!" 

After  the  Recognition,  the  Queen  went  with  her  attend- 
ants to  the  altar,  and,  kneeling  upon  the  steps,  offered  a 
golden  altar-cloth  and  an  ingot  of  gold  of  a  pound  weight. 
Then  followed  the  Litany  and  the  first  part  of  the  commu- 
nion service,  the  sermon  being  preached  by  the  Bishop  of 
London,  after  which  came  the  elaborate  ceremonies  of  the 
coronation  service. 

The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  addressing  the  Queen, 
asked,  "  Is  your  Majesty  willing  to  take  the  oath?"  to  which 
she  replied,  "I  am  willing." 

"Will  you  solemnly  promise  and  swear,"  asked  the  prel- 
ate, "to  govern  the  people  of  this  United  Kingdom  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  the  dominions  thereto  be- 
longing, according  to  the  statutes  in  Parliament  agreed 
on,  and  the  respective  laws  and  customs  of  the  same?" 

"  I  solemnly  promise  so  to  do,"  answered  the  Queen. 

"Will  you,  to  your  power,  cause  law  and  justice,  in 
mercy,  to  be  executed  in  all  your  judgments?" 

"I  will." 

"Will  you,  to  the  utmost  of  your  power,  maintain  the 

78 


THE    CORONATION    OF    QUEEN    VICTORIA 
(From  the  picture  by  Sir  George  Hayter) 


ACCESSION    AND    CORONATION 

laws  of  God,  the  true  profession  of  the  Gospel,  and  the 
Protestant  Reformed  religion  established  by  law?  And 
will  you  maintain  and  preserve  inviolable  the  settlement 
of  the  United  Church  of  England  and  Ireland,  and  the 
doctrine,  worship,  discipline,  and  government  thereof,  as 
by  law  established  within  England  and  Ireland,  and  the 
territories  thereunto  belonging?  And  will  you  preserve 
unto  the  bishops  and  clergy  of  England  and  Ireland,  and 
to  the  churches  there  committed  to  their  charge,  all  such 
rights  and  privileges  as  by  law  do  or  shall  appertain  to 
them  or  any  of  them?" 

The  Queen  replied,  "All  this  I  promise  to  do";  after 
which  she  went  to  the  altar,  and  laying  her  right  hand 
upon  the  book  of  the  Gospels,  said,  "The  things  which  I 
have  heretofore  promised,  I  will  perform  and  keep.  So 
help  me,  God."  Then  kissing  the  book,  she  signed  the 
oath,  and  knelt  in  prayer  while  the  choir  sang  the  hymn, 
"Come,  Holy  Ghost,  our  souls  inspire." 

Next  came  the  ceremony  of  the  anointing.  The  Queen 
took  her  seat  in  St.  Edward's  chair,  and  a  canopy  of  cloth- 
of-gold  was  held  over  her  while  the  Archbishop  anointed 
her  with  oil  on  the  head  and  hands,  saying : 

"Be  thou  anointed  with  holy  oil  as  kings,  priests,  and 
prophets  were  anointed.  And  as  Solomon  was  anointed 
king  by  Zadok  the  priest  and  Nathan  the  prophet,  so  be 
thou  anointed,  blessed,  and  consecrated  Queen  over  this 
people,  whom  the  Lord  thy  God  hath  given  thee  to  rule  and 
govern.  In  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.     Amen." 

The  Archbishop  then  pronounced  a  blessing  on  the 
Queen;  and  the  various  insignia  of  royalty,  the  sceptres, 
orb,  spurs,  etc.,  having  all  their  civil  or  ecclesiastical  sig- 
nificance, were  handed  to  her  with  appropriate  exhortations. 
The  words  used  by  the  prelate  as  he  placed  the  sword  of 
State  in  the  monarch's  hands  were  so  significant  that  we 
quote  them  in  full:  "Receive  this  kingly  sword,  brought 
now  from  the  altar  of  God,  and  delivered  to  you  by  the 
hands  of  us,  the  ser\'ants  and  bishops  of  God,  though  un- 

79 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

worthy.  With  this  sword  do  justice,  stop  the  growth  of 
iniquity,  protect  the  Holy  Church  of  God,  help  and  defend 
widows  and  orphans,  restore  the  things  that  are  gone  to 
decay,  maintain  the  things  that  are  restored,  punish  and 
reform  what  is  amiss,  and  confirm  what  is  in  good  order; 
that  doing  these  things  you  may  be  glorious  in  all  virtue, 
and  so  faithfully  serve  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  this  life 
that  you  may  reign  forever  with  Him  in  the  life  which  is  to 
come.     Amen." 

The  imperial  mantle  of  cloth-of-gold  was  then  placed 
upon  the  Queen's  shoulders,  and  the  ruby  ring  upon  her 
finger.  Unfortunately,  the  ring  was  rather  small,  and 
she  suffered  considerable  discoinfort  in  the  process. 

Next  came  the  most  important  act  of  all.  The  Arch- 
bishop, having  first  offered  prayer,  took  the  imperial  crown 
from  the  altar  and  placed  it  on  the  Queen's  head.  Instant- 
ly all  the  great  crowd  of  peers  and  peeresses  assumed  their 
glittering  coronets,  and  the  Abbey  rang  with  the  shouts  of 
"God  save  the  Queen!"  The  crowd  outside  caught  up 
the  shout,  the  church  bells  were  set  ringing,  and  a  signal 
from  Whitehall  set  the  guns  firing,  not  only  in  London 
but  at  all  the  chief  ports  and  garrison  towns.  The  crowds 
in  the  streets  waved  hats  and  handkerchiefs  and  cheered 
themselves  hoarse.  Then  followed  the  presentation  of  a 
Bible  to  the  Queen,  and  the  singing  of  the  Te  Deum,  after 
which  she  was  conducted  to  a  throne  placed  in  the  centre 
of  the  church. 

I  The  act  of  homage  was  next  perfonned  by  the  lords 
spiritual  kneeling  around  the  Queen  pronouncing  the 
words  of  homage  and  kissing  her  Majesty's  hand.  The 
princes  of  the  blood  royal  ascended  the  steps  of  the  throne, 
took  off  their  coronets,  knelt,  pronounced  the  words  of 
homage,  touched  the  crown  upon  her  Majesty's  head, 
and  kissed  her  left  cheek.  The  Duke  of  Norfolk  and  six- 
teen other  dukes  present  did  the  same,  with  the  exception 
of  kissing  the  hand  instead  of  the  cheek.  Their  example 
was  followed  by  twenty-one  marquises,  ninety-three  earls, 
nineteen  viscounts,  and  ninety-one  barons.     Lord  Rolle, 

80 


THE    QUEEN    IN    HER    CORONATION    ROBES 


ACCESSION    AND    CORONATION 

who  was  very  infirm,  on  ascending  the  throne  slipped, 
when  the  Queen  rose,  and  extended  her  hand,  expressing 
a  hope  that  he  was  not  hurt.  The  words  used  in  doing 
homage  were  these:  "I  do  become  your  hege  man  of  life 
and  limb,  and  of  earthly  worship,  and  faith  and  truth  I 
will  bear  unto  you  to  live  and  die  against  all  manner  of 
folk,  so  help  me  God."  The  Duke  of  Wellington  was 
much  cheered  when  performing  his  homage,  and  when 
this  part  of  the  ceremony  was  concluded  the  members  of 
the  House  of  Commons  gave  nine  hearty  cheers,  accom- 
panied with  frequent  cries  of  "God  save  Queen  Victoria," 
which  were  repeated  throughout  the  building  by  the  con- 
gregation. The  peers  present  were  in  number  two  hun- 
dred and  forty-five;  the  peeresses  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
eight. 

The  crown  which  had  been  made  for  George  IV.  weighed 
more  than  seven  pounds,  and  was  considered  too  heavy 
for  the  Queen's  use.  A  new  one  was,  therefore,  made 
for  the  occasion.  It  weighed  considerably  less,  and  was 
formed  of  hoops  of  gold  covered  with  precious  stones  over 
a  cap  of  rich  blue  velvet,  surmounted  by  a  ball,  in  which 
were  small  diamonds,  having  on  the  top  a  Maltese  cross 
of  brilliants,  a  splendid  sapphire  in  the  centre,  and  a  cluster 
of  brilliants  and  fleur-de-lys  and  Maltese  crosses  around 
the  centre  of  the  crown.  The  large  heart-shaped  ruby 
worn  by  the  Black  Prince  was  in  front  of  it,  a  large  oblong 
sapphire  below  it,  and  clusters  of  dropped  pearls,  with 
emeralds,  rubies,  sapphires,  and  other  gems  in  a  circlet. 

During  the  homage  the  Earl  of  Surrey,  Lord  Treas- 
urer of  the  Household,  threw  to  the  occupants  of  the  choir 
and  the  lower  galleries  the  coronation  medals,  which  were 
scrambled  for  with  great  eagerness.  The  Queen  was  di- 
vested of  the  symbols  of  sovereignty  and  received  the  holy 
sacrament,  after  which,  again  resuming  her  crown  and 
holding  the  sceptre,  she  took  her  seat.  After  the  blessing 
had  been  pronounced  the  service  was  concluded  by  the 
singing  of  the  "Hallelujah  Chorus." 

The  sovereign,  still  wearing  the  crown  and  holding  the 

8l 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

sceptre  and  the  orb,  now  rose  and  went  to  the  west  door, 
where  she  mounted  a  state  carriage  in  which  she  could 
well  be  seen  by  the  people.  Among  these  was  one  who 
wrote :  "  When  she  returned,  looking  pale  and  tremulous, 
crowned  and  holding  her  sceptre  in  a  manner  and  attitude 
which  said,  '  I  have  it,  and  none  shall  wrest  it  from  me ' ; 
even  Carlyle,  who  was  standing  near  me,  uttered,  with 
emotion,  a  blessing  on  her  head." 

The  late  Duchess  of  Cleveland,  who,  as  Lady  Wilhelmina 
Stanhope,  was  one  of  the  train-bearers,  contributed  the 
following  recollections : 

"The  Queen  looked  very  well,  and  was  perfectly  com- 
posed. She  wore  a  circlet  of  splendid  diamonds,  and  was 
dressed  in  gold  tissue,  over  which  was  fastened  a  crimson 
velvet  mantle,  bordered  with  gold  lace,  and  lined  with  er- 
mine, with  a  long  ermine  cape,  which  very  ponderous  ap- 
pendage we  were  to  support. 

"As  train-bearers  we  stood  according  to  our  rank,  as 
follows :  Lady  Caroline  Lennox  and  Lady  Adelaide  Paget ; 
Lady  Mary  Talbot  and  Lady  Fanny  Cowper;  Lady  Anne 
Fitzwilliam  and  myself;  Lady  Louisa  Jenkinson,  and 
last,  not  least.  Lady  Mary  Grimston. 

"We  were  all  dressed  alike,  in  white  and  silver.  The 
effect  was  not,  I  think,  brilliant  enough  in  so  dazzling  an 
assembly,  and  our  little  trains  were  serious  annoyances, 
for  it  was  impossible  to  avoid  treading  upon  them.  We 
ought  never  to  have  had  them ;  and  there  certainly  should 
have  been  some  previous  rehearsing,  for  we  carried  the 
Queen's  train  very  jerkily  and  badly,  never  keeping  step 
properly;  and  it  must  have  been  very  difficult  for  her 
to  walk,  as  she  did,  evenly  and  steadily,  and  with  much 
grace  and  dignity,  the  whole  length  of  the  Abbey. 

"The  Abbey  itself  was  a  beautiful  coup  d'oeil,  as  we 
marched  up  amid  thunders  of  applause  and  handker- 
chiefs and  scarves  waving  everywhere.  The  Queen  ac- 
knowledged her  reception  very  graciously. 

"I  think  her  heart  fluttered  a  little  as  we  reached  the 
throne;  at  least,  the  color  mounted  to  her  cheeks,  brow, 

^2 


ACCESSION    AND    CORONATION 

and  even  neck,  and  her  breath  came  quickly.  However, 
the  slight  emotion  she  showed  was  very  transient,  and 
she  stood  perfectly  motionless  while  the  Archbishop,  in 
an  almost  inaudible  ^  oice,  proclaimed  her  our  undoubted 
sovereign  and  liege  lady.  After  this  she  took  the  oaths, 
the  Litany  and  communion  service  were  read,  and  the 
Bishop  of  London  gave  us  a  very  good  sermon,  though 
we,  who  were  standing  the  whole  time,  thought  it  some- 
what of  the  longest. 

"The  ceremonies  that  followed  were  minute  and  rather 
tedious.  Before  the  anointing  we  accompanied  the  Queen 
into  St.  Edward's  Chapel — as  unlike  a  chapel  to  all  appear- 
ances as  possible — w^here  she  was  robed  in  a  sort  of  white 
muslin  wrapper,  trimmed  with  very  fine  Brussels  lace,  and 
the  dalmatic,  a  robe  of  cloth-of-gold,  worked  with  the  rose, 
shamrock,  and  thistle  in  colors,  and  lined  with  crimson. 
The  diamond  circlet  was  taken  off,  and  the  mantle  (to  our 
great  relief),  and  she  reappeared  in  the  Abbey  bareheaded, 
and  simply  wearing  the  dalmatic. 

"  As  she  knelt  before  the  altar,  with  clasped  hands  and 
bowed  head,  with  her  loose  robe  of  gold  brocade  hanging 
from  her  shoulders,  she  looked  exactly  like  the  representa- 
tion, in  some  old  picture,  of  a  fair  young  devotee  in  the 
costume  of  the  Middle  Ages. 

"She  was  assisted  into  St.  Edward's  chair  by  the  old 
Archbishop,  and  there  solemnly  crowned  and  anointed 
Queen.  The  burst  of  applause  in  the  Abbey  when  the 
crown  was  placed  on  her  head,  and  the  sight  of  all  the 
peers  and  peeresses  crowning  themselves  at  the  same  mo- 
ment, was  really  most  impressive,  and  in  the  midst  of  the 
cheering  Handel's  magnificent  anthem,  'The  Queen  shall 
rejoice!'  thundered  in. 

"After  this  the  Queen  was  enthroned,  and  we  took  up 
our  station  on  the  steps  of  the  throne  during  the  homage, 
and  amused  ourselves  with  watching  Lord  Surrey,  the 
Treasurer  of  the  Household,  dispensing  medals  in  the 
midst  of  a  most  desperate  scramble,  and  nearly  torn  to 
pieces  in  the  universal  excitement.     The  pages  were  par- 

83 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

ticularly  active,  and  some  of  them  collected  ten  or  twelve 
medals  apiece.  The  train-bearers  wrung  out  one  each 
from  Lord  Surrey,  whose  temper  was  entirely  gone,  and 
who  looked  as  red  and  voluble  as  a  turkey-cock.  I  had 
another  given  to  me  by  one  of  the  pages. 

"I  saw  little  of  the  homage.  The  Duke  of  Wellington 
was  prodigiously  cheered.  Lord  Rolle  fell  down,  and  was 
carried  away  by  two  strong  peers;  and  a  great  deal  more 
of  the  same  sort  may  have  happened,  but  I  saw  none  of  it. 
I  merely  had  the  advantage  of  seeing  them  put  on  their 
coronets  again  after  the  ceremony  was  over.  Lord  Wilton 
fitting  on  his  being  in  itself  a  study. 

"After  the  homage  w^e  returned  with  the  Queen  to  the 
chapel,  where  her  mantle — now  a  purple  one — was  fast- 
ened on,  and  we  waited  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour  for 
the  procession  to  form  in  the"  same  manner  as  on  entering 
the  Abbey. 

"  The  Queen  complained  of  a  headache,  from  having  her 
crown  very  unceremoniously  knocked  by  most  of  the  peers 
— one  actually  clutched  hold  of  it;  but  she  said  she  had 
guarded  herself  from  any  accident  or  misadventure  by 
having  it  made  to  fit  her  head  tightly.  She  had,  besides, 
to  bear  the  heavy  orb  and  sceptre  across  the  Abbey;  but 
when  she  reached  the  robing -room  she  disembarrassed 
herself  of  them,  unclasped  her  mantle,  took  off  her  crown, 
and,  having  got  rid  of  all  her  royalty,  sat  down  on  the 
sofa  and  amused  herself.  We,  too,  were  allowed  to  sit 
down  for  the  first  time." 

But  her  day  of  fatigue  was  not  yet  over,  for  she  had  to 
entertain  one  hundred  persons  at  dinner  in  the  palace. 
The  Duke  of  Wellington  had  a  great  ball  at  Apsley  House, 
two  thousand  persons  having  been  invited.  The  cabinet 
ministers  gave  State  dinners.  Illuminations,  fireworks, 
a  fair  in  Hyde  Park,  and  free  admission  to  the  theatres 
were  provided  for  the  gratification  of  her  Majesty's  sub- 
jects in  London.  There  was  no  accident  of  any  impor- 
tance, except  in  one  case  where  a  balloon  made  a  bad  de- 
scent.    The  House  of  Commons  voted  £70,000  on  account 

84 


ACCESSION    AND    CORONATION 

of  the  coronation,  a  very  small  sum  when  compared  with 
the  large  amounts  given  for  similar  ceremonies  abroad. 
A  number  of  peers  were  created  or  raised  a  step  in  the 
peerage,  among  these  being  the  father  of  General  Lord 
Methuen ;  twenty-nine  baronets,  among  them  Lytton  Bul- 
wer  and  William  Herschell. 

Referring  to  the  period  immediately  following,  Greville 
wrote:  "The  life  which  the  Queen  leads  at  Windsor  is  as 
follows:  She  gets  up  soon  after  eight  o'clock,  breakfasts 
in  her  own  room,  and  is  employed  the  whole  morning  in 
transacting  business.  She  reads  all  the  despatches,  and 
has  everything  of  interest  and  importance  in  every  depart- 
ment laid  before  her.  At  eleven  or  twelve,  Melbourne 
comes  to  her  and  stays  an  hour  or  less,  according  to  the 
business  he  may  have  to  transact.  At  two  she  rides  with 
a  large  suite,  and  she  likes  to  have  it  numerous.  Mel- 
bourne always  rides  on  her  left  hand,  and  the  equerry  in 
w^aiting  generally  on  her  right.  After  riding  she  amuses 
herself  for  the  rest  of  the  afternoon  with  music  and  sing- 
ing, pla3'ing,  romping  with  children,  if  there  are  any  in 
the  castle — and  she  is  so  fond  of  them  that  she  generally 
contrives  to  have  some  there — or  in  any  other  way  she 
fancies.  The  hour  of  dinner  is  nominally  half-past  sev^en 
o'clock,  soon  after  which  time  the  guests  assemble.  But 
she  seldom  appears  till  near  eight  o'clock,  when  the  guests 
are  all  assembled.  The  Queen  comes  in,  preceded  by 
the  gentlemen  of  her  household,  and  followed  by  the  Duch- 
ess of  Kent  and  all  her  ladies.  She  remains  at  table 
the  usual  time,  but  does  not  suffer  the  men  to  sit  long  after 
her. 

"  We  were  summoned  to  coffee  in  less  than  a  quarter  of 
an  hour.  In  the  drawing-room  she  never  sits  down  till 
the  men  make  their  appearance.  Coffee  is  then  served  to 
them  in  the  adjoining  room,  and  then  they  go  into  the  draw- 
ing-room, where  she  goes  round  and  says  a  few  words  to 
each.  When  this  little  ceremony  is  over,  the  Duchess  of 
Kent's  whist-table  is  arranged.  At  about  half-past  eleven 
her  Majesty  goes  to  bed.     She  orders  and  regulates  every 

85 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

detail  herself;  she  knows  where  everybody  is  lodged  in 
the  castle,  settles  about  the  riding  or  driving,  and  enters 
into  every  particular  with  minute  attention." 

I  may  say  that  the  traits  of  character  here  mentioned 
continued  to  be  shown  to  the  last.  She  always  remem- 
bered the  day  fixed  for  the  coming  and  the  departure  of 
every  guest,  and  for  every  one  of  those  of  the  household 
who  came  on  duty  or  whose  waiting  was  ended  and  their 
term  over.  Till  the  last,  the  regularity  of  the  division  of 
her  day,  and  the  keeping  to  an  appointed  hour  for  each 
kind  of  business,  w^ere  persevered  in,  and  the  method  so 
mastered  and  practised  enabled  her  to  get  through  an 
amount  of  work  with  a  degree  of  calm  and  an  entire  ab- 
sence of  hurry  and  fuss  which  gave  a  wholesome  lesson 
to  many  a  younger  head  with  far  less  to  do.  She  had  also, 
even  in  her  youthful  years,  a  remarkable  dislike  to  any 
precipitate  action.  She  knew  that  it  was  best  to  pause 
for  a  time  and  to  consider  before  taking  action,  for  in  civil 
life  and  in  measures  of  state  it  is  exceedingly  rare  to  have 
to  decide  any  matter  of  importance  on  the  spur  of  the  mo- 
ment. She  would  advise,  if  one  were  moved  to  write  hasti- 
ly upon  any  passionate  impulse,  that  it  w^as  best  not  to 
send  the  letter  until  the  following  morning,  that  time  might 
mingle  with  resolution  to  produce  a  greater  justness  of  ex- 
pression, and  a  more  temperate  view  of  the  matter  in  hand. 
Here  we  must  ask  what  were  the  men  like  who  had  the 
/  right,  during  the  opening  years  of  her  reign,  to  advise  her? 
First  in  place  of  responsibility  was  the  Prime  Minister, 
Lord  Melbourne.  A  jovial,  clever,  loud-talking  squire, 
with  fine  features  and  strong  language,  convej'ing  good- 
natured  expression  of  an  easj-going  and  capable  mind, 
he  had  risen  to  be  Prime  Minister,  apparently  because  he 
did  not  care  to  fill  the  place.  He  had  become  more  careless 
with  age,  and  a  happy  indolence  led  him  rather  to  con- 
sult his  comfort  in  taking  the  broadest  road,  than  to  listen 
to  his  vigorous  understanding  hinting  at  the  narrow  path 
.of  difficulty.  "Can't  you  leave  it  alone?"  was  supposed 
\to  express  his  frame  of  mind  whenever  a  trouble  presented 

86 


ACCESSION    AND    CORONATION 

itself  to  be  fought  by  his  more  combative  colleagues.  But 
he  had  great  loyalty  of  nature,  and  a  capacity  which  made 
his  judgment  sure.  The  Queen  liked  him,  and  he  was 
as  devoted  as  a  father  to  her.  Nothing  could  exceed  the 
courtesy  and  kindliness  of  his  manner  towards  her.  It 
sprang  from  a  real  affection  and  the  goodness  of  a  true 
and  manly  heart.  No  wonder  that  she  appreciated  his 
loyalty  and  listened  to  his  advice.  A  good  horseman, 
he  used  to  accompany  her  when  she  rode  with  her  ladies 
and  members  of  her  Court  at  Windsor,  and,  though  almost 
old  enough  to  be  her  grandfather,  was  so  young  in  mind 
that  he  never  wearied  her. 

Those  who  were  personally  interested  in  the  young 
Queen  complain  that  she  was  overworked  and  teased  with 
needless  details.  "They  send  all  manner  of  things  in 
the  various  official  boxes  for  signature,  and  she,  not  know- 
ing yet  what  is  substance  and  what  is  form,  reads  all.  It 
is  suspected  that  this  is  done  to  give  her  disgust  of  her 
business.  I  do  not  suspect  any  such  deep  design,  but  cer- 
tainly the  proper  way  would  be  that  once  or  twice  a  week 
one  of  the  secretaries  of  state  should  attend  with  all  the 
papers  that  require  her  signature  and  explain  wh-it  is  im- 
portant and  what  not.  Lord  Melbourne  sees  her  every  day 
for  a  couple  of  hours,  and  his  situation  is  certainly  the  most 
dictatorial,  the  most  despotic,  that  the  world  has  ever  seen. 
Wolsey  and  Walpole  were  in  strait  waistcoats  compared 
with  him.  His  temper  and  feelings  lead  him  to  no  great 
abuse  of  this  enormous  influence,"  says  Mr.  Croker,  "nor 
would  his  political  position  out  of  the  palace  permit  him  to 
do  anything  essentially  wrong  in  it.  But  as  between  him 
and  the  sovereign  he  is  a  perfect  maire  du  palais." 

Then  there  was  a  great  man  with  whom  all  took  counsel, 
and  who  in  later  days  let  himself  serve  the  Queen  as  Prime 
Minister,  rather  than  desired  the  post.  He  is  the  central 
figure  in  the  group  of  men  of  influence  of  his  time.  This 
was  "  the  Duke  " — Arthur  Wellesley,  Duke  of  Wellington. 
No  subject  since  Marlborough  had  so  great  a  reputation  as 
a  commander.     As  a  statesman  he  held  a  far  higher  place, 

87 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

for  men  knew  that  they  could  place  an  absolute  trust  in 
him,  and  this  could  hardly  have  been  said  of  John  Church- 
ill. Of  spare  frame  and  middle  height,  with  eagle  nose  and 
blue  eyes,  his  hair  was  already  white,  but  his  eyebrows 
were  still  dark  and  very  thick.  He  shaved  all  his  face 
but  a  short  whisker.  His  face  and  figure  w^ere  the  best 
k;iowai  in  London.  "There  goes  the  Duke,"  men  would 
sajT",  and  look  after  him,  feeling  that  it  was  to  him  Britain 
owed  her  freedom  from  foreign  domination  and  the  grand 
place  won  among  European  peoples.  "  He  never  lost  an 
English  gun,"  was  often  repeated  as  the  great  soldier's 
campaigns  were  mentioned.  Soon  after  the  new  reign 
had  begun  one  of  Wellington's  greatest  opponents  in  the 
field.  Marshal  Soult,  visited  England,  and  was  most  cor- 
dially received.  Soult  w^as  one  of  the  bravest  men,  yet 
when  he  trusted  himself  for  the  first  time  to  one  of  the  new 
railway  trains,  it  is  recorded  that  he  frankly  confessed  his 
fear,  and  put  his  head  out  of  the  carriage  window  and 
roared  to  the  deaf  engine-driver  ahead  that  he  must  stop! 
He  was  a  man  of  frank  and  simple  nature,  and  was  de- 
lighted with  the  kindly  feeling  shown  to  him  in  England. 
,  Our  portrait  gallery  of  the  famous  men  of  the  opening 
of  the  reign  must  now  show  a  man,  less  indeed  than  the 
great  captain  of  his  age,  but  yet  one  so  full  of  confidence 
in  himself  that  it  w^as  said  of  him  that  he  w^ould,  at  a  mo- 
ment's notice,  take  command  of  the  Channel  fleet.  He 
was  not  a  sailor,  nor  a  soldier,  but  the  younger  son  of  a 
Whig  family  which  had  taken  to  politics  since  the  days  of 
the  Commonwealth.  This  w^as  "Little  Johnny" — Lord 
John  Russell.  A  tiny  man,  wearing  only  the  little  whisk- 
er of  the  time,  with  finely  formed,  detennined  mouth,  a 
nose  wath  rather  too  much  of  an  enlargement  at  the  end, 
arching  eyebrows,  and  good  blue  eyes.  He  spoke  in  a  de- 
liberate and  somewhat  nasal  voice,  and,  like  the  feather- 
weight he  was,  delighted  in  being,  if  possible,  alwaj'^s 
abreast,  if  not  a  little  ahead,  of  any  movement  he  saw  in 
the  political  world.  He  was  the  leader  of  the  Whigs; 
and  they  prided  themselves  on  taking  Time  by  the  fore- 

88 


ACCESSION    AND    CORONATION 

lock,  and  managing  him  as  a  man  may  lead  a  bull — with 
a  ring  passed  through  the  bull's  nose.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  they  swayed  the  fortunes  of  the  State  for  the  period, 
when  they  held  a  middle  position  between  the  extreme 
Radicals  and  the  "High  Tories."  They  were  able  to 
shape  the  form  in  which  changes  took  place.  Their  fault 
in  the  eyes  of  their  opponents  was  that  they  were  too  ex- 
clusive in  the  distribution  of  office.  It  was  alleged  that 
few  had  a  chance  of  preferment  unless  they  belonged  to 
one  of  the  families  who,  connected  by  marriage  with  each 
other,  presumed  on  an  almost  hereditary  right  to  be  of  the 
select  governing  body.  Many  of  the  heads  of  these  fam- 
ilies were  able  to  influence  elections  to  such  a  degree  that 
they  could  each  of  them  be  sure  of  sending  several  nomi- 
nees to  Parliament.  Happily  this  state  of  things  no  longer 
exists,  at  least  not  in  England.  Lord  John  Russell,  when 
he  stood  at  the  table  of  the  House,  or  rose  from  the  front  Op- 
position bench  to  make  a  speech,  was  so  small  of  stature 
that  little  of  him  was  seen  above  the  brass-bound  boxes 
on  the  table,  but  he  stood  as  far  back  from  this  furniture 
as  the  narrow  space  would  allow,  and,  folding  his  arms 
across  his  chest,  spoke  with  a  resolution  and  confident 
slowness  of  speech  which  were  the  sign  that  he  knew  there 
was  strength  in  his  opinions,  supported  as  they  were  by 
the  class  that  gave  weight  to  anything  coming  from  the 
carefully  reforming  house  of  Russell. 

In  one  of  those  who  in  future  was  to  become  also  a  first 
minister  of  the  crown.  Lord  John  Russell's  manner  and 
confidence  produced  a  lifelong  feeling  of  irritation.  Dis- 
raeli could  not  abide  him.  To  the  last  days  of  Disraeli's 
life,  when  he  loved  rather  to  speak  of  books  and  matters 
imconnected  with  politics,  this  dislike  would  occasionally 
break  through  the  more  amiable  conversation  with  which 
he  entertained  his  guests.  Lord  John  was  to  Disraeli 
the  personification  of  all  that  is  politically  evil.  Much  as 
the  future  Tory  chief  enjo3'ed  the  "sustained  sj^lendor  of 
the  stately  lives"  of  the  nobles  of  this  country,  he  could 
not  tolerate  that  the  assurance  their  manner  exhibited 

89 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

should  be  worn  by  their  younger  brothers  or  sons,  especial- 
ly when  they  advocated  changes  which,  while  keeping 
themselves  in  power  and  the  Tories  out  of  office,  were  an- 
tagonistic to  the  doctrines  of  the  Conservatives — as  the 
party  which  Disraeli  had  joined  began  to  be  styled.  Some 
cherished  antipathy  is  not  inconsistent  with  great  talents 
and  knowledge  of  the  world.  Disraeli's  antipathy  was 
to  Whiggism,  and  this  dislike  centred  on  the  head  of  the 
confident  "Johnny/' 

With  the  exception  of  Lord  Melbourne,  Lord  John  was 
the  minister  of  whom  the  Queen  had  seen  the  most,  and 
she  liked  him  and  his  family.  The  Bedfords  were  the 
head  of  a  race  who,  by  their  historical  traditions,  formed 
the  proper  stock  from  which  prime  ministers  might  be 
taken,  and  the  little  man,  whose  persistent  and  courageous 
manner  gave  him  for  many  years,  sometimes  in  conjunc- 
tion with  Lord  Palmerston  and  sometimes  as  an  adversary, 
the  opportunity  of  conference  with  the  monarch,  was  an 
agreeable  talker.  He  was  a  man  of  the  world,  whose  com- 
pany at  Windsor  and  London  was  never  unwelcome.  With 
plenty  of  confidence,  and  with  quite  sufficient  of  the  quality 
of  patrician  pride.  Lord  John  knew  well  how  to  study  the 
Queen's  wishes,  and  at  the  same  time  to  be  firm  in  the  ut- 
terance of  his  own  opinions.  None  more  courteous  in 
manner,  he  was  correct  in  believing  that  by  speaking  out 
his  mind  he  won  the  appreciation  of  the  Court,  and  both 
the  Queen  and  Prince  Albert  had  a  high  opinion  of  him. 
The  Queen  gave  him  as  his  residence  a  charming  villa, 
possessing  a  little  domain  full  of  magnificent  oaks  and 
other  timber.  The  windows  looked  down  from  the  high 
plateau  of  Richmond  Park  on  a  view  almost  unrivalled, 
where  the  Thames  in  shining  curves  flows  through  rich 
meadows  studded  with  fine  timber,  past  the  banks  once 
adorned  with  the  palaces  of  Sheen  and  Nonsuch,  and  still 
bedecked  with  many  an  ancestral  home.  AVhen  he  died  she 
allowed  his  widow  to  live  on  at  that  charming  spot,  which 
had  been  the  favorite  haunt  of  the  later  Tudor  monarchs 
of  England.     He  would  speak  of  the  difiference  between 

90 


ACCESSION    AND   CORONATION 

those  days  and  our  own  whenever  he  took  his  guests  to  a 
httle  mound  on  the  brink  of  the  wooded  cliff  overlooking 
the  Thames  on  one  side,  and  on  the  other  giving  a  view 
over  Richmond  Park  towards  London.  On  a  clear  day 
the  turrets  of  the  Tower  of  London  could  be  distinguished 
from  this  place,  and  he  was  wont  to  recount  the  legend 
that  the  eighth  Henry  had  waited  to  discern  in  the  distance 
a  signal  which  told  him  that  Anne  Boleyn's  head  had 
rolled  on  the  scaffold.  At  Pembroke  Lodge,  in  his  later 
years,  Lord  John's  small  but  vigorous  figure  could  be  seen 
taking  exercise,  not  only  with  liis  legs,  but  also  with  his 
lungs,  for  as  he  sauntered  over  many  of  the  well-kept  walks 
amid  bordering  clumps  of  rhododendron,  or  under  the  old 
oaks,  he  would  often  recite  to  himself  some  passage  in  a 
speech  which  he  was  preparing  for  a  coming  debate  in  the 
House.  In  his  more  advanced  age  he  was  still  fond  of  re- 
citing aloud  to  his  guests,  not  portions  of  his  speeches, 
but  pages  of  Italian  or  English  poetry,  and  after  tea  or 
lunch  he  would  take  them  out  to  a  pretty  rose-surrounded 
lawn,  and  set  them  to  play  bowls,  at  which  game  he  was  a 
master. 

Now  and  then  the  Queen  used  to  drive  down  to  visit  him 
at  the  place  she  had  given  him,  and  he  would  be  fond  of 
quoting,  with  pride  and  affection,  what  she  had  said.  He 
was  yet  apt  to  leaven  with  a  little  hint  of  criticism,  fitting 
the  robust  spirit  of  the  descendant  of  men  who  in  former 
centuries  were  the  counsellors  of  the  crown,  the  ever  gen- 
uine love  he  had  for  the  occupant  of  the  throne.  The  privi- 
leges and  limitations  of  the  power  of  the  crown  had  been 
partly  the  result  of  the  actions  of  his  own  ancestors.  He 
would  never  encourage  any  increase  in  the  constitutional 
powers  of  the  Queen,  and  would  speak  his  mind  freely 
enough  at  all  times,  in  her  presence  or  when  he  was  alone 
with  his  friends.  One  day,  when  one  of  the  young  princes 
had  received  some  little  present,  and  had,  in  Lord  John's 
opinion,  not  been  sufficiently  grateful,  he  said  to  him, 
"'Thanks'  is  a  little  word,  and  costs  nothing."  At  an- 
other time,  when  mentioning  the  name  of  one  who  was  re- 

91 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

ported  to  have  been  in  special  favor,  he  wrote :  "  So-and-so 
has  been  made  much  of,  and  I  fear  he  will  become  unbear- 
able." There  was  a  great  deal  of  the  spirit  of  democracy 
in  the  little  man,  and  he  always  desired  to  be  abreast  of 
his  time,  perhaps  quite  as  much  to  control  the  pace  of  the 
advance-guard  as  for  any  reason  for  desiring  its  more 
rapid  progress. 

In  his  view  the  office  of  the  crown  should  not  be  allowed 
to  aggrandize  itself,  even  if  others  magnify  it  to  the  detri- 
ment of  the  liberty  of  the  people.  So,  also,  it  was  desirable 
that  its  wearer  and  any  of  her  faraUy  should,  in  the  inter- 
ests of  the  social  commonweal,  show  an  equal  politeness 
and  courtesy,  to  be  demanded  from  the  highest  to  the  low- 
est. 

A  Conservative  of  an  interesting  type  was  Sir  Robert 
*eel.  It  was  always  said  that  he  did  not  find  favor  per- 
/sonally  with  his  young  sovereign.  But  she  liked  his 
rectitude  of  conduct,  and  greatly  valued  his  abilities. 
In  manner,  however,  he  was  not  fortunate :  of  a  good  pres- 
ence and  striking  features,  he  was  reserved,  and  this  is  too 
often  mistaken  for  haughtiness.  Some  called  him  pom- 
pous ;  others  said  they  did  not  know  what  to  make  of  him. 
Excellent  as  a  financier,  the  abilities  that  gave  him  judg- 
ment in  the  arrangement  of  national  income  and  expendi- 
ture did  not  fail  him,  as  is  too  often  the  case  with  mere 
calculators,  in  the  wider  fields  of  political  contest.  In 
one  instance  he  changed  an  opinion  long  held  on  the  ques- 
tion of  taxation  of  foreign  corn.  He  acknowledged  him- 
self converted  to  a  doctrine  which  the  majority  of  his  party 
believed  to  be  ruin  for  the  agriculturist.  Yet,  great  as 
was  the  abuse  poured  upon  him  for  this  recantation  of  a 
belief  which  had  been  held  until  the  country  was  convulsed 
with  the  conflict  it  bred,  his  motives  were  not  impugned. 
What  he  said  was  recognized  as  the  honest  belief  of  a  man 
of  integrity,  prepared  rather  to  sacrifice  his  position  in  his 
party  than  to  continue  to  lead  it  on  lines  of  which  his  ma- 
turer  judgment  disapproved.  The  well-known  picture  of 
him  standing  arm  -  in  -  arm  with  the  Duke  of  Wellington 

92 


ACCESSION   AND    CORONATION 

marks  the  friendship  that  existed  between  the  two  men. 
The  one,  bred  in  the  city,  was  the  type  of  the  civilian,  as 
the  Duke  was  the  best  of  the  miUtary  type  of  which  the 
early  Victorian  years  could  boast. 

Peel  and  Melbourne  were  the  leaders  of  parties,  and 
men  looked  with  some  apprehension  to  public  affairs.  To 
be  sure,  England  seemed  to  be  free  from  the  violent  revo- 
lutionists who  nine  years  after  brought  about  an  almost 
universal  upheaval  upon  the  Continent.  But  there  was 
enough  to  produce  disquiet.  The  Duke  of  Wellington,  in 
1835,  wrote:  "I  am  not  surprised  that  Sir  Robert  Peel 
should  be  alarmed.  All  that  I  hope  for  is  that  the  change 
in  the  position  of  the  country  may  be  gradual,  that  it  may 
be  effected  without  civil  war,  and  may  occasion  as  little 
destruction  of  individual  interests  and  property  as  possible. 
We  may  all  by  degrees  take  our  respective  station  in  the 
new  order  of  things,  and  go  on  till  future  changes  take 
place  ad  infinitum.  All  that  will  result  from  such  a  state 
of  things  will  be  shame  and  disgrace  to  the  public  men  of 
the  day,  and  I  confess  that  I,  for  one,  look  back  with  no 
satisfaction  to  the  events  from  the  year  1830  to  the  present 
time.  It  is  true  that  I  would  have  improved  them  if  I  could, 
but  I  am  not  certain  that  the  course  which  I  took  was  the 
right  one." 

Lord  Stanley,  afterwards  Lord  Derby,  was  already  re- 
markable for  force  in  debate.  Impetuous  and  eager,  he 
remained  almost  boyish  in  his  boisterous  energy,  even 
when  Prime  Minister.  "The  Rupert  of  Debate,"  as  Lord 
Lytton  called  him,  was  an  ideal  Tory  noble,  doing  his  duty 
as  a  country  gentleman,  whether  in  giving  a  ball  or  a  shoot- 
ing-party, or  in  Quarter  Sessions,  with  the  same  keenness 
as  he  showed  during  a  night's  hot  discussion  in  the  House. 
It  is  a  proof  of  the  opinion  his  friends  held  as  to  his  unself- 
ishness that  at  a  time  when  Peel  was  about  to  go  out  of 
office  it  was  gravely  suggested  that  Stanley  might  consent 
to  join  the  dying  Cabinet  merely  in  order  to  show  that  it 
was  respected  by  him,  and  not  with  an37^  view  of  arresting 
its  dying  agonies.     He  was  only  asked  to  share  them. 

93 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

And  who  else  was  there  of  marked  influence  on  the  poli- 
tics of  the  day?  We  will  only  look  for  a  moment  at  one 
man.  Tliis  was  O'Connell,  a  burly  figure,  with  a  tre- 
mendous and  yet  agreeable  voice.  "The  Liberator/'  as 
his  Irish  followers  called  him,  the  champion  of  Irish  inde- 
pendence, and  yet  at  that  time  advocating  what  none  since 
who  wished  for  popularity  in  that  country  have  called  for, 
namely,  emigration.  The  troubles  that  came  afterwards 
from  the  neglect  of  that  advice  were  evident.  His  power 
over  a  meeting  was  most  remarkable.  Great  as  has  been 
the  eloquence  of  many  from  Erin,  O'Connell's  was  by  far 
the  most  remarkable.     It  was  he  who 

"Taught  so  well 
Rebellion's  art  is  never  to  rebel." 

He  has  left  little  enduring  mark  in  the  results  of  his  la- 
bors, but  the  impression  made  by  him  on  those  who  heard 
him  was  deep.  Mr.  Gladstone,  for  instance,  was  never 
tired  of  reciting  the  impression  made  upon  him  by  the  ora- 
tory of  the  famous  agitator.  Unlike  many  of  those  who 
aspired  to  lead  Irish  "aspirations,"  he  was  a  thorough 
Irishman  in  blood,  and  his  name  is  one  of  those  borne  by 
the  most  illustrious  of  the  ancient  heroes,  who  is  still  re- 
membered in  many  place-names,  not  only  in  his  own 
land,  but  also  in  that  to  which  the  Irish  colonists  went, 
namely,  the  west  coast  of  Scotland,  where  the  Falls  of 
Connel,  near  Oban,  and  Inchconnel  Castle,  in  Lochawe, 
speak  of  the  fame  of  his  namesake  who  lived  twelve  cen- 
turies before. 

And  now,  if  these  were  the  chief  features  of  the  men, 
who  were  the  most  beautiful  or  most  famous  women?  First, 
Harriet  Duchess  of  Sutherland  must  be  named.  She  was 
the  Queen's  greatest  friend,  not  only  during  the  first  years, 
but  on  until  the  Duchess's  life  closed  in  the  "sixties."  A 
daughter  of  Lord  Carlisle,  she  married  the  Duke,  who  was 
a  good  deal  her  senior,  and  who  had  inherited  immense 
estates  in  Sutherland  and  in  Staffordshire.  The  Duchess 
had  excellent  taste,  and  wherever  she  went  took  notes  of 

94 


ACCESSION    AND    CORONATION 

beautiful  buildings  and  gardens  abroad.  The  results  were 
seen  at  Dunrobin  and  at  Trentham,  where  the  beautiful 
site  was  worthily  used  for  the  enlargement  in  the  one  case 
of  an  old  Georgian  brick  house,  and  in  the  other  of  an  old 
Scots  castle,  into  lovely  creations,  showing  the  best  taste 
at  a  time  by  no  means  too  rich  in  that  respect.  She  came 
of  a  Whig  family,  and  married  into  another,  and  was  in 
many  respects  in  her  own  person  an  example  to  prove  the 
reason  of  the  influence  which  made  Disraeli  angry.  Hers 
was  a  mind  that  lent  itself  to  the  encouragement  of  revo- 
lution abroad  and  of  changes  at  home  which  Toryism  be- 
lieved would  sweep  away  the  position  of  the  persons  hold- 
ing power.  As  it  was  by  such  position  that  influence  ap- 
peared to  be  gained,  the  ultra-Conservative  heart  was 
seared  at  once  with  anger  and  envy.  Her  husband,  one 
of  the  most  excellent  of  men,  was  so  deaf  that  he  withdrew 
himself  early  from  affairs,  and  attended  only  to  the  man- 
agement of  his  estates;  but  he  was  very  liberal  in  his 
political  views,  uniting  with  these  a  strong  opinion  on 
the  dignity  of  his  rank,  and  was  very  indignant  when  it 
was  at  one  time  proposed  to  give  the  ducal  dignity  less 
honor  in  precedence  than  it  obtained,  partly  thanks  to  his 
action  and  that  of  his  friends.  But  the  eyes  of  society 
centred  on  his  beautiful  and  gracious  wife,  who  made  her 
assemblies  the  most  sought  after  in  London,  The  Duke 
of  York  had  squandered  so  much  money  that  he  was  forced 
to  sell  his  house  when  it  was  in  an  unfinished  condition. 
The  lease  was  one  from  the  crown.  The  Duke  of  Suther- 
land bought  it,  and  added  a  story  to  the  building,  re-nam- 
ing it  Stafford  House.  He  decorated  it  beautifully  and 
placed  in  its  gallery  a  fine  collection  of  pictures,  these  con- 
sisting of  about  one-half  of  those  which  had  belonged  to 
his  father. 

His  second  brother.  Lord  Francis,  had  become  the  heir 
to  the  Duke  of  Bridgewater's  property,  and  half  of  the  old 
Stafford  collection  went  to  him.  Francis  employed  Barry 
to  build  a  house  which  should  be  as  fine  as  was  Stafford 
House,  and  should  have  the  advantage  of  being  built,  not 

95 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

on  a  crown  lease,  but  on  a  freehold.  The  result  was  Bridge- 
water  House,  with  its  fine  gallery  of  pictures.  The  brothers 
were  ardently  attached  to  each  other,  and  the  Duchess  was 
very  fond  of  Francis,  but  it  was  always  a  little  trial  to  her 
that  Stafford  House  was  not  freehold.  She  tried  to  per- 
suade Lord  Melbourne  to  advise  that  the  crown  should 
sell  her  the  freehold,  but  Lord  Melbourne  for  once  was  ob- 
durate to  a  fair  lady's  entreaties,  and  said  that  he  thought 
his  duty  was  to  advise  the  crown  to  keep  what  it  possessed. 
This  did  not  prevent  the  Duchess  from  lavishing  money 
on  the  structure.  She  was  specially  awake  to  the  wrongs 
of  the  poor  and  the  suffering.  Whether  it  w'as  the  state  of 
the  prisoner,  of  paupers  in  poor-houses,  of  miners  in  the 
coal-pits,  or  the  grievances  of  Poles  under  the  Russian 
goverrmient,  or  Italians  at  Naples,  or  the  blacks  in  slavery 
in  America,  her  house  was  always  open  to  meetings  to  ad- 
vocate their  cause.  This  made  many  in  high  Tory  so- 
ciety laugh  at  what  they  called,  after  the  French  manner, 
her  "engouements,"  or  enthusiasms.  But  they  were  all 
glad  to  attend  the  festivals  she  gave,  and  among  those 
who  most  appreciated  her  in  after-years  was  Prince  Albert. 
The  young  Queen  could  have  no  better  friend,  and  the 
Duchess  was  devoted  to  her  sovereign. 

It  is  difficult  to  speak  of  the  Duchess  without  thinking 
of  another  most  beautiful  woman  who  had  cause  to  be  most 
grateful  to  her  for  the  part  she  took  in  showing  friendship 
when  trouble  came.  This  was  Mrs.  Norton,  one  of  the 
three  brilliant  sisters  of  the  Sheridan  family,  one  of  whom 
was  mother  to  Lord  Dufferin  and  Ava,  and  the  other  be- 
came Duchess  of  Somerset.  Mrs.  Norton  w^as  a  friend  of 
Lord  Melbourne's,  and  political  enmity  bred  accusations 
against  him  and  her,  which  led  to  a  trial.  Society  dis- 
played itself  in  no  kindly  form  to  the  lady.  It  w^as  char- 
acteristic of  the  courage  and  goodness  of  the  Duchess  that 
she  took  the  earliest  and  most  public  opportunity  of  show- 
ing how  baseless  and  base  she  considered  the  gossip  to  be, 
and  few  could  successfully  question  a  social  judgment 
coming  from  one  who,  as  Mrs.  Norton  in  one  of  her  eloquent 

96 


ACCESSION    AND    CORONATION 

poems  said,  "  went  like  a  swan  tlirough  the  waters  of  life," 
its  dross  seeking  in  vain  to  cling  to  her  snowlike  purity. 

Lady  Douro,  wife  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington's  son,  was 
very  much  admired.  Lady  Radnor  and  Lady  Joscelyn's 
faces  also  look  upon  us  from  the  "  late  thirties  "  in  the  can- 
vases of  Swinton  and  Winterhalter,  and  from  the  "keep- 
sake" books  which  were  then  much  in  fashion.  These 
books  were  beautifully  illustrated  with  copperplate  and 
steel  engravings,  and  were  very  popular  among  those  who 
could  afford  to  buy  them. 

The  magazines  were  scarce,  and  had  no  engravings. 
Blackicood  remains  as  unchanged  as  the  Chinese  Empire, 
and  it  had  no  peers  and  few  to  rival  it.  The  Gentle- 
man's Magazine  and  Eraser's  were  popular.  The  Illus- 
trated London  Neivs  began  its  career  in  184 1.  It  was  held 
to  be  a  marvel  of  "  enterprise."  Its  engravings  were,  as  a 
rule,  small  in  size,  but  there  was  at  once  much  honesty  in 
the  attempt  to  give  actual  sketches  of  the  scenes  described. 
Daguerre's  invention,  the  precursor  of  photography,  could 
give  it  no  assistance.  Much  labor  was  expended  on  giving 
effects  to  the  stage,  in  opera  and  drama,  and  dancers  like 
Taglioni  had  more  fame  than  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  their 
successors,  both  in  popular  portraiture  and  in  social  recog- 
nition. 

Many  of  the  celebrated  ladies  who  formed  the  society  of 
the  Court  were  painted  by  Sir  Thomas  Lawrence,  but 
Hoppner  had  been  the  favorite  painter.  One  of  the  best 
of  Hoppner's  portraits  is  that  of  Lady  Charlotte  Campbell 
as  Aurora,  treading  on  clouds  suffused  with  morning  rays. 


CHAPTER  III 

BETROTHAL    AND   MARRIAGE    OF   THE    QUEEN 

'  In  1837  ^  dispute  began  on  a  domestic  matter  affecting 
he  Queen  which  no  one  would  expect  to  have  led  to  a 
change  of  ministry.  Sir  R.  Peel,  however,  later,  refused 
I  office  because,  when  he  had  formed  a  cabinet,  he  could 
not  also  have  his  way  in  nominating  the  ladies  who  should 
hold  a  place  at  Court.  He  "took  himself  very  seriously," 
as  was  said,  and  what  others  considered  a  trifling  matter 
he  regarded  as  very  important. 

He  and  his  friends  complained  that  some  of  the  ladies 
selected  by  Lord  Melbourne  to  compose  her  Majesty's 
household  had  a  marked  political  bias.  The  men  holding 
household  appointments,  they  said,  should  be  "of  the 
same  political  color  as  the  ministry,  and  vote  with  the  gov- 
ernment. But  there  should  be  a  marked  difference  be- 
tween those  engaged  in  political  conflict  and  the  more 
moderate  and  measured  deportment  desirable  in  those 
who  form  the  private  society  of  the  sovereign,  who,  it  must 
never  be  forgotten,  is  not  the  sovereign  of  one  party,  but 
of  all,  who  expects  to  see  at  her  Court  the  various  shades 
of  political  opinion  showing  a  common  respect  for  the  sta- 
tion, and  affection  for  the  person,  of  the  monarch.  But 
this  intercourse  and  interchange  of  courtesy  and  duty  can 
never  be  as  free  and  impartial  as  it  ought  to  be  if  the  con- 
stant attendants  on  the  Court  are  to  be  active  partisans. 
We  know  to  what  unhappy  scenes  a  departure  from  this 
understanding  gave  rise  in  former  reigns,  and  we  trust 
they  may  not  be  repeated ;  but  we  must  say  that  appoint- 
ments of  wives  and  daughters  of  cabinet  ministers  to 
household  offices  are  highly  objectionable.     The  first  in 

98 


BETROTHAL   AND    MARRIAGE 

rank  of  one  of  those  attendants  is  the  daughter  of  one  and 
the  sister  of  another  cabinet  minister.  The  second  is  the 
wife  of  the  Lord  President  of  the  Council.  A  third  and 
fourth,  and  we  beUeve  half  a  dozen  more,  are  daughters  of 
the  Lord  Privy  Seal,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  and 
their  political  colleagues.  It  is  impossible  to  make  the 
slightest  objection  to  the  personal  character  of  any  one  of 
these  ladies,  but  we  do  say  that  the  accumulation  of  po- 
litical and  household  offices  in  the  same  family  is  liable 
to  serious  inconveniences.  It  is  neither  constitutional* 
in  principle  nor  becoming  in  practice  that  the  sovereign 
should  be  enclosed  within  the  circumvallation  of  any  par- 
ticular set,  however  respectable — that  in  the  hours  of  busi- 
ness or  amusement,  in  public  and  in  private,  she  should 
see  only  the  repetition  of  the  same  family  faces,  and  hear 
no  sound  but  the  modulations  of  the  same  family  voices; 
and  that  the  private  comfort  of  the  Queen's  interior  life 
should  be,  as  it  inevitably  must,  additionally  exposed  to 
the  fluctuations  of  political  change,  or,  what  is  still  worse, 
that  it  should  be  either  affected  or  prevented  by  political 
favor  or  personal  attachments." 

It  was,  on  the  other  hand,  asserted  that  the  sovereign 
should  not  be  reduced  to  such  a  state  of  unconstitutional 
dilemma  as  not  to  be  able  to  change  the  ministry  without 
also  changing  the  Mistress  of  the  Robes,  or  the  maids  of 
honor ;  or,  vice  versa,  of  changing  these  ladies  without  also 
changing  her  ministry. 

Peel  himself  wrote  that  household  offices  held  bj'-  ladies 
ought  not  to  be  exempt  from  the  control  of  the  minister 
when  he  forms  a  government :  "  If  exempt  from  that 
control  on  a  change  of  government,  why  not  subse- 
quently? Surely  the  principle  equally  extends  to  a  claim 
on  the  part  of  the  sovereign  to  fill  up  certain  house- 
hold offices  without  reference  to  the  opinion  or  advice 
of  her  minister.  Is  it  possible  to  maintain  such  a  posi- 
tion consistently  with  the  first  maxim  of  the  British  Con- 
stitution, that  the  sovereign  can  do  no  wrong  ;  that 
she  is   presumed    in   every  public  act  to  be  guided  by 

99 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND   EMPIRE 

the  advice  of  a  minister  whom  ParHament  can  make  re- 
sponsible? 

"  Is  not  every  appointment  constituted  by  the  Civil  List 
Act,  paid  by  the  Civil  List  Act,  a  public  act?  Could  it  be 
tolerated  that  a  Queen  might  appoint  a  Mistress  of  the 
Robes,  without  reference  to  her  minister,  whom  her  min- 
ister might  know  to  be  perfectly  unfit  to  be  about  the  person 
of  the  Queen?  Take  other  times  and  other  sovereigns, 
and  other  characters,  and  test  your  opinion  by  a  reference 
to  them. 

"  What,  in  the  constitutional  point  of  view,  has  a  coun- 
try to  do  Avith  the  youth  of  the  sovereign,  or  with  the  sex 
of  the  sovereign?  No  more  than  with  her  nature  or  her 
beauty!     A  great  public  principle  is  under  consideration. 

"Those  pay  a  compliment  to  the  Queen  who  consider 
her  the  sovereign,  with  plenary  rights  and  avithority,  bvit 
subject  to  the  principles  and  maxims  of  the  Constitution. 
It  is  a  real  insult  to  the  Queen,  and  to  the  sovereign  au- 
thority, to  mix  with  constitutional  arguments  any  appeals 
to  the  special  circumstances  of  youth  and  sex." 

Peel  certainly  took  the  ladies  verj?^  seriously!  He  prol> 
ably  thought  that  the  Queen  would  have  few  strong  opin- 
ions of  her  own,  and  would  not  be  able  to  keep  her  own 
balance  of  judgment  if  clever  and  designing  women  were 
able  to  effect  a  permanent  lodgment  in  her  household. 
It  seems  odd  that  such  fears  should  have  carried  Peel  so 
far.  The  sensible  and  practical  result  of  the  matter  then 
so  hotly  debated  has  been  that  the  Mistress  of  the  Robes, 
who  presides  over  the  ladies  of  the  household,  is  changed 
with  each  administration,  but  that  the  others  are  not,  their 
offices  not  being  regarded  as  so  political  as  are  several  of 
the  places  held  by  men.  Wives  and  nearest  relatives  of 
ministers  are,  however,  no  longer  chosen. 
/  In  1839  the  Queen  became  engaged  to  Prince  Albert. 
We  have  already  given  some  account  of  the  first  visit  of 
the  Priiice  and  his  brother  to  Kensington  Palace  in  1836, 
I  when  a  decidedly  favorable  impression  was  produced  in 
the  mind  of  the  Princess  Victoria.     An  occasional  cor- 

100 


PRINCE    ALBERT    AT    THE    AGE    OF    TWENTY-FOUR 
(From  a  miniature  by  Robert  Thorburn) 


BETROTHAL   AND    MARRrAG*P, 

respondcnce  wa.s  kept  uj),  and_oiiJlie-aG€-essioiiof  the  Qircerr- 
Prince^berlwas  one  of  the  first  to  write  and  congratulate 
"lierT 

The  cares  of  state  and  the  numerous  distractions  at- 
tendant upon  exalted  position  stood  in  the  way  of  closer 
acquaintance  until  1839,  when  King  Leopold  arranged 
a  second  visit  of  the  Coburg  princes  to  their  English  cousin. 

The  best  account  of  this  visit  and  of  what  resvdted  from 
it  will  be  found  in  the  letters  and  diaries  which  the  Queen 
allowed  to  be  made  public  on  the  subject  of  her  betrothal. 
King  Leopold  wrote  a  kindly  letter  of  introduction  for  the 
Coburg  princes  to  take  to  England : 

"  Laeken,  October  8,  1839. 

"My  dearest  Victoria, 

"Your  cousins  will  be  themselves  the  bearers  of  these 
lines.  I  recommend  them  to  your  bienveillance.  They 
are  good  and  honest  creatures,  deserving  your  kindness, 
and  not  pedantic,  but  really  sensible  and  trustworthy. 

"  I  have  told  them  that  your  great  wish  is  that  they  should 
be  quite  unbefangen  [that  is,  not  on  ceremony]  with  you. 

"I  am  sure  that  if  you  have  anything  to  recommend 
to  them  they  will  be  most  happy  to  learn  it  from  you, 
"My  dear  Victoria, 

"  Your  most  devoted  uncle, 

"Leopold  R." 

Upon  their  arrival  at  Windsor  the  Queen  wrote:  "At 
half-past  seven  I  went  to  the  top  of  the  staircase  to  receive 
my  two  dear  cousins,  Ernest  and  Albert,  whom  I  found 
grown,  changed,  and  embellished.  It  was  with  some  emo- 
tion that  I  beheld  Albert,  who  is  beautiful. 

"  I  took  them  both  to  mamma.  Their  clothes  not  having 
arrived,  they  could  not  appear  at  dinner.  There  were 
staying  in  the  castle  at  that  time  Lord  Clanricarde,  Lord 
and  Lady  Granville,  Baron  Brunnow,  Lord  Normanby, 
and  the  Hon.  William  Temple.  In  waiting  were  Lady 
Sandwich,  Miss  Paget,  and  Miss  Cocks." 

After  dinner  the  princes  came  in,  in  spite  of  their  morn- 

lOI 


VICTORIA  R.  i.      HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

ing  dresses.  Lord  Melbourne  said  at  once  to  the  Queen 
that  he  was  struck  with  Prince  Albert's  likeness  to  her. 

The  Queen  at  that  time  breakfasted  in  her  own  room 
(the  princes  coming  to  see  her  afterwards),  and  lunched 
with  the  Duchess  of  Kent  and  the  princes  at  two.  She 
rode  with  them,  the  Duchess  of  Kent,  and  the  greater  part 
of  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  every  afternoon. 

I  may  mention  that  these  riding-parties  in  Windsor  Park 
were  of  constant  occurrence,  the  Queen  sometimes  wearing 
a  hat,  and  sometimes  one  of  those — as  we  now  think — 
inelegant  caps  with  a  peak  in  front,  and  with  an  enlarge- 
ment above  made  flat  at  the  top.  By  her  side  Melbourne 
often  rode,  with  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  in  a  group  be- 
hind. 

The  love  of  riding  remained  long  with  the  Queen,  though 
the  gay  cavalcades  which  used  to  sweep  through  the  glades 
of  Windsor  Forest  were  no  more  seen  after  the  Queen's 
loss  of  the  Prince,  which  sorrow  took  all  joy  from  the  re- 
mainder of  her  days. 

A  large  dinner  took  place  every  evening,  and  three  times 
a  week  dancing  after  dinner.  Her  journal  is  full  at  this 
time  of  expressions  of  admiration  for  Prince  Albert,  and 
of  the  deep  impression  he  had  made  upon  her. 

On  the  14th  the  Queen  had  it  intimated  to  the  Prince, 
through  Baron  Alvensleben  (Master  of  the  Horse  to  the 
Duke  of  Coburg,  and  an  old  and  devoted  servant  of  the 
family),  that  she  wished  to  speak  to  him  the  next  day. 
She  also  told  Lord  Melbourne  on  the  same  day  that  she  had 
made  up  her  mind ;  at  which  he  expressed  much  satisfaction, 
and  said  to  her,  as  the  Queen  records  at  the  time  in  her 
journal:  "I  think  it  will  be  very  well  received,  for  I  hear 
that  there  is  an  anxiety  now  that  it  should  be,  and  I  am 
very  glad  of  it;"  adding,  in  quite  a  paternal  tone,  "You 
will  be  much  more  comfortable ;  for  a  woman  cannot  stand 
alone  for  any  time  in  whatever  position  she  may  be." 

"On  Tuesday,  October  15,  the  two  princes  went  out 
hunting  early,"  writes  the  Queen,  "but  came  back  about 
twelve.     At  half-past  twelve  I  sent  for  Albert     He  came 

102 


BETROTHAL   AND    MARRIAGE 

to  the  closet,  where  I  was  alone.  After  a  few  minutes  I  said 
to  liim  that  I  thought  he  must  be  aware  why  I  wished  him 
to  come,  and  that  it  would  make  me  too  happy  if  he  would 
consent  to  what  I  wished  (namely,  to  marry  me). 

"  There  was  no  hesitation  on  his  part,  but  the  offer  was 
received  with  the  greatest  demonstration  of  kindness  and 
affection.  He  is  perfection  in  every  way — in  beauty,  in 
everything.  I  told  him  I  was  quite  unworthy  of  him.  lie 
said  he  would  be  very  happy  to  spend  his  Hfe  with  me. 
How  I  will  strive  to  make  him  feel  as  little  as  possible  the 
great  sacrifice  he  has  made!  I  told  him  it  ivas  a  great 
sacrifice  on  his  part,  which  he  would  not  allow.  I  then 
told  him  to  fetch  Ernest,  which  he  did,  who  congratulated 
us  both,  and  seemed  very  happy.  He  told  me  how  perfect 
his  brother  was." 

She  wrote  to  King  Leopold  on  October  15,  1839 : 

"  I  love  him  more  than  I  can  say,  and  shall  do  everything 
in  my  power  to  render  this  sacrifice  as  small  as  I  can.  He 
seems  to  have  great  tact — a  very  necessary  thing  in  his 
position.  These  last  few  days  have  passed  like  a  dream 
to  me,  and  I  am  so  much  bewildered  by  it  all  that  I  hardty 
know  how  to  write.  But  I  do  feel  very  happy.  It  is  ab- 
solutely necessary  that  this  determination  of  mine  should 
be  known  to  no  one  but  yourself  and  to  Uncle  Ernest  until 
after  the  meeting  of  Parliament,  as  it  would  be  considered 
otherwise  neglectful  on  mj'^  part  not  to  have  assembled 
Parliament  at  once  to  inform  them  of  it. 

"Lord  Melbourne  has  acted  in  this  business,  as  he  has 
always  done  towards  me,  with  the  greatest  kindness  and 
affection.  We  also  think  it  better,  and  Albert  quite  ap- 
proves of  it,  that  we  should  be  married  very  soon  after 
Parliament  meets,  about  the  beginning  of  February;  and, 
indeed,  loving  Albert  as  I  do,  I  cannot  wish  it  to  be  delaj'^ed. 
My  feelings  are  a  little  changed,  I  must  say,  since  last 
spring,  when  I  said  I  could  not  think  of  marrying  for  three 
or  four  years ;  but  seeing  Albert  has  changed  all  this. 

"  Pray,  dearest  uncle,  forward  these  two  letters  to  Uncle 
103 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

Ernest,  to  whom  I  beg  you  will  enjoin  strict  secrecy,  and 
explain  these  details  which  I  have  not  time  to  do,  and  to 
faithful  Stockmar.  I  think  you  might  tell  Louise  of  it, 
but  none  of  her  family. 

"  I  wish  to  keep  the  dear  young  gentlemen  here  till  the 
end  of  next  week.     Ernest's  sincere  pleasure  gives  me  great 
delight.     He  does  so  adore  dearest  Albert. 
"Ever,  dearest  uncle, 

"Your  devoted  niece, 

"V.  R." 
King  Leopold  said : 

"  I  am  sure  you  will  like  them  the  more  the  longer  you 
see  them.  They  are  young  men  of  merit,  and  without 
that  puppy-like  affectation  which  is  so  often  found  with 
young  gentlemen  of  rank;  and  though  remarkably  well 
infoniied,  they  are  very  free  from  pedantry. 

"Albert  is  a  very  agreeable  companion.  His  manners 
are  so  gentle  and  harmonious  that  one  likes  to  have  him 
near  one's  self.  I  always  found  him  so  when  I  had  him  near 
me,  and  I  think  his  travels  have  still  improved  him.  He 
is  full  of  talent  and  fun,  and  draws  cleverly.  I  am  glad 
to  hear  that  they  please  the  people  who  see  them.  They 
deserve  it,  and  were  rather  nervous  about  it.  I  trust  they 
will  enliven  your  sejour  in  the  old  castle,  and  may  Albert 
be  able  to  strew  roses  without  thorns  on  the  pathway  of 
life  of  our  good  Victoria.     He  is  well  qualified  to  do  so. 

"Your  devoted  uncle, 

"Leopold  R." 

Again:  "I  had,  when  I  learned  your  decision,  almost 
the  feeling  of  old  Simeon :  '  Now  lettest  Thou  Thy  servant 
depart  in  peace.'  Your  choice  has  been  for  these  last 
years  my  conviction  of  what  might  and  would  be  best  for 
your  happiness,  and  just  because  I  was  convinced  of  it, 
and  knew  how  strangely  fate  often  changes  what  one 
tries  to  bring  about,  as  being  the  best  plan  one  could  fix 
upon  —  the  maximum  of  a  good  arrangement — I  feared 

104 


BETROTHAL   AND    MARRIAGE 

that  it  would  not  happen.  In  your  position,  which  may, 
and  will,  perhaps,  become  in  future  even  more  difficult  in  a 
political  point  of  view,  you  could  not  exist  without  having 
a  happy  and  agreeable  interieur.  And  I  am  much  deceived 
(which  I  think  I  am  not),  or  you  will  find  in  Albert  just  the 
very  qualities  and  disposition  which  are  indispensable 
for  your  happiness,  and  which  will  suit  your  own  char- 
acter, temper,  and  mode  of  life. 

"  You  say  most  amiably  that  you  consider  it  a  sacrifice 
on  the  part  of  Albert.  This  is  true  in  many  points,  be- 
cause his  position  will  be  a  difficult  one ;  but  much,  I  may 
say  all,  will  depend  on  your  affection  for  him.  If  you  love 
him,  and  are  kind  to  him,  he  will  easily  bear  the  bothers  of 
his  position,  and  there  is  a  steadiness  and,  at  the  same 
time,  a  cheerfulness  in  his  character  which  will  facilitate 
this. 

"  I  think  your  plans  excellent.  If  Parliament  had  been 
called  at  an  unusual  time,  it  would  make  them  uncom- 
fortable; and  if,  therefore,  they  receive  the  communica- 
tion at  the  opening  of  the  session,  it  will  be  best.  The 
marriage,  as  you  say,  might  then  follow  as  closely  as 
possible." 

Prince  Albert,  himself,  writes  to  Stockmar:  "Your 
prophecy  is  fulfilled.  The  event  has  come  upon  us  by 
surprise  sooner  than  we  could  have  expected ;  and  I  now 
doubly  regret  that  I  have  lost  the  last  summer,  which  I 
might  have  employed  in  many  useful  preparations,  in  def- 
erence to  the  wishes  of  relations  and  to  the  opposition  of 
those  who  influenced  the  disposal  of  my  life. 

"  I  have  laid  to  heart  your  advice  as  to  the  true  founda- 
tion on  which  my  future  happiness  must  rest,  and  it  agrees 
entirely  with  the  principles  of  action  which  I  had  already 
in  my  own  mind  silently  framed  for  myself.  A  personal- 
ity of  character  which  will  win  the  respect,  the  love,  and 
confidence  of  the  Queen  and  of  the  nation  must  be  the 
groundwork  of  my  position.  This  individuality  gives 
security  for  the  disposition  which  prompts  the  action ;  and 
even  should  mistakes  occur,  they  will  be  the  more  easily 

105 


VICTORIA  R.  I.   HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

pardoned  on  account  of  that  personality;  while  even  the 
most  noble  and  beautiful  undertakings  fail  in  procuring 
support  to  a  man  who  fails  in  inspiring  that  confidence. 

"  If,  therefore,  I  prove  a  '  noble '  Prince  in  the  true  sense 
of  the  word,  as  you  call  upon  me  to  be,  wise  and  prudent 
conduct  will  become  easier  to  me,  and  its  results  more  rich 
in  blessings. 

"I  will  not  let  my  courage  fail.  With  firm  resolution 
and  true  zeal  on  my  part  I  cannot  fail  to  continue  to  be 
'noble,  manly,  and  princely'  in  all  things.  In  what  I 
may  do,  good  advice  is  the  first  thing  necessary,  and  that 
you  can  give  better  than  any  one  if  you  can  only  make 
up  your  mind  to  sacrifice  your  time  to  me  for  the  first  year 
of  my  existence  here." 

This  was  the  commencement  of  that  long  residence  in 
England  which  made  Baron  Stockmar  so  useful  a  coun- 
sellor and  friend  to  the  Prince  and  to  the  Queen.  Sir 
Theodore  Martin  has  fully  explained  how  the  wisdom  of 
host  and  hostess  strictly  limited  his  influence  to  consulta- 
tion and  advice.  He  was  of  much  use  to  them  in  com- 
munications for  the  benefit  of  England  with  foreigners. 
In  the  transaction  of  affairs  he  was  able  to  give  them,  re- 
moved as  they  were  from  actual  contact  with  the  person- 
ages directing  public  affairs  abroad,  a  fair  view  of  the 
trend  of  Continental  opinion,  while  as  a  faithful  secretary, 
possessing  good  judgment,  he  could  be  of  use  in  the  wide 
relationship  that  family  ties  throughout  Europe  neces- 
sarily created. 

While  the  of&cial  publication  of  the  news  of  the  betrothal 
was  still  delayed,  "  the  Queen  and  Prince  saw  a  great  deal 
of  each  other,  and  often  discussed  his  future  position — 
what  his  title  should  be — whether  or  not  he  should  be  a 
peer  (though  to  this  both  he  and  the  Queen  objected).  He 
was,  however,  naturally  to  take  precedence  of  every  one 
else." 

On  November  i.  Prince  Albert,  attired  in  a  green  uni- 
form of  the  Coburg  troops,  accompanied  the  Queen  to  a 
review.     "  At  ten  minutes  to  twelve  I  set  off  for  the  ground 

io6 


BETROTHAL    AND    MARRIAGE 

in  my  Windsor  uniform  and  cap/'  the  Queen  writes,  "on 
my  old  charger,  '  Leopold,'  with  my  beloved  Albert,  looking 
so  handsome  in  his  unifonn,  on  my  right,  and  Sir  John 
Macdonald,  the  Adjutant-General,  on  my  left.  Colonel 
Grey  and  Colonel  Wemj^ss  preceding  me.  A  guard  of 
honor,  my  other  gentlemen,  my  cousin's  gentlemen.  Lady 
Caroline  Harrington,  etc. 

"A  horrid  dayl  Cold — dreadfully  blowing — and  in  ad-' 
dition  raining  hard  when  we  had  been  out  a  few  minutes. 
It,  however,  ceased  when  we  came  to  the  ground.  I  rode 
alone  down  the  ranks,  and  then  took  my  place,  as  usual, 
with  dearest  Albert  on  my  right,  and  Sir  John  Macdonald 
on  my  left,  and  saw  the  troops  march  past.  They  after- 
wards manoeuvred.  The  Rifles  looked  beautiful.  It  was 
piercingly  cold,  and  I  had  my  cape  on,  which  dearest  Albert 
settled  comfortably  for  me.  He  was  so  cold,  being  en 
grande  tenue,  with  high  boots.  We  cantered  home  again, 
and  went  in  to  show  ourselves  to  poor  Ernest,  who  had 
seen  all  from  a  window." 

The  Prince  wrote  to  his  mother:  "With  the  exception 
of  my  relations  towards  her  [the  Queen],  my  future  position 
will  have  its  dark  sides,  and  the  sky  will  not  always  be 
blue  and  vmclouded.  But  life  has  its  thorns  in  every 
position,  and  the  consciousness  of  having  used  one's  powers 
and  endeavors  for  an  object  so  great  as  that  of  promoting 
the  good  of  so  many  will  surely  be  sufficient  to  support 
me. 

In  another  letter  he  says :  "  I  tremble  as  I  take  up  my 
pen,  for  I  cannot  but  fear  that  what  I  am  about  to  tell  you 
will  at  the  same  time  raise  a  thought  which  cannot  be  other- 
wise than  painful  to  you,  and,  oh !  which  is  also  very  much 
so  to  me,  namely,  that  of  parting.  The  subject  which  has 
occupied  us  so  much  of  late  is  at  last  settled." 

He  then  tells  of  his  happiness,  and  continues :  "  Vic- 
toria does  whatever  she  fancies  I  should  wish  or  like,  and 
we  talk  together  a  great  deal  about  our  future  life,  which 
she  promises  me  to  make  as  happy  as  possible.  Oh !  the 
future!  does  it  not  bring  with  it  the  moment  when  I  shall 

107 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER   LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

have  to  take  leave  of  my  dear,  dear  home  and  of  you?  I 
cannot  think  of  that  without  deep  melancholy  taking  pos- 
session of  me. 

"  The  Queen  and  the  ministers  wished  that  the  mamage 
should  take  place  in  the  first  days  of  February,  to  which  I 
acquiesced,  after  hearing  their  reasons  for  it.  My  position 
here  will  be  very  pleasant,  inasmuch  as  I  have  refused  all  the 
offered  titles.  I  keep  my  own  name  and  remain  what  I  was. 
It  makes  it  the  easier  for  me  to  run  over  occasionally  to  visit 
the  old  home  and  see  my  dear  relations. 

"I  ask  you  to  give  me  your  blessing,  which  will  be  a 
talisman  to  me  against  all  the  storms  the  future  may  have 
in  store." 

Again :  "  To  live  and  to  sacrifice  myself  for  the  benefit 
of  my  new  country  does  not  prevent  my  doing  good  to  that 
country  from  which  I  have  received  so  many  benefits. 
While  I  shall  be  untiring  in  my  efforts  and  labors  for  the 
country  to  which  I  shall  in  future  belong,  and  where  I  am 
called  to  so  high  a  position,  I  shall  never  cease  to  be  a  true 
German,  a  true  Coburg  and  Gotha  man.  Still,  the  separa- 
tion will  be  very  painful  to  me." 

The  princes  soon  after  left  for  Germany. 

The  marriage  was  announced  on  November  15  to  the 
Queen  Dowager  Adelaide,  and  to  other  members  of  the 
family.  With  her  Prime  Minister  the  Queen  conferred  on 
the  various  arrangements  to  be  made,  especially  with  regard 
to  the  declaration  to  be  made  to  the  Privy  Council.  It  was 
feared  to  allude  to  the  Prince's  religion.  It  might  have 
been  taken  for  granted  that  the  descendant  of  a  house 
which  had  distinguished  itself  by  being  among  the  first 
to  take  a  prominent  part  among  the  princes  of  Germany 
for  the  Reformation  would  not  have  been  supposed  to  be  a 
Roman  Catholic,  yet  an  absurd  report  was  being  circulated 
that  he  was  one.  It  is  odd  how  the  "  No  Popery  "  cry  has 
its  periodical  recrudescence. 

On  the  23d  eighty  members  of  the  Privy  Council  as- 
sembled in  the  central  room  on  the  ground-floor  in  Buck- 
ingham Palace.     "At  two,"  the  Queen  writes,  "I  went  in. 

108 


BETROTHx^L   AND    MARRIAGE 

The  room  was  full,  but  I  hardly  knew  who  was  there. 
Lord  Melbourne  I  saw  looking  kindly  at  me  with  tears  in 
his  eyes,  but  he  was  not  near  me.  I  then  read  my  short 
declaration.  I  felt  my  hands  shake,  but  I  did  not  make 
one  mistake.  I  felt  most  happy  and  thankful  when  it  was 
over," 

The  usual  form  was  then  proceeded  with  in  asking  the 
Queen  that  her  most  gracious  communication  might  be 
printed.  "Of  course/'  the  Queen  says,  "there  was  no  end 
of  congratulations.  I  wore  a  bracelet  with  the  Prince's 
picture,  and  it  seemed  to  give  me  courage  at  the  Council." 

"I  have  taken  a  fine  sheet  of  paper,"  Croker  wrote  to 
Lady  Hardwicke,  "  in  honor  of  the  Queen,  to  write  to  you 
what  passed  in  Council.  We  had  a  very  full  Council, 
and  the  great  Duke  [of  Wellington]  attended.  When  we 
had  assembled  to  the  number  of  eighty,  and  as  many  had 
taken  their  seats  as  could  at  a  long  table,  her  Majesty 
was  handed  in  by  the  Lord  Chamberlain,  and,  bowing  to 
us  all  round,  sat  down,  saying,  'Your  lordships  will  be 
seated.'  She  then  unfolded  a  paper,  and  read  her  declara- 
tion. I  cannot  describe  to  you  with  what  a  mixture  of 
self-possession  and  feminine  delicacy  she  read  the  paper. 
Her  voice,  which  is  naturally  beautiful,  was  clear  and 
untroubled,  and  her  eye  was  bright  and  calm,  neither 
bold  nor  downcast,  but  firm  and  soft.  There  was  a  blush 
on  her  cheek,  which  made  her  look  both  handsome  and 
more  interesting ;  and  certainly  she  did  look  as  interesting 
and  as  handsome  as  any  young  lady  I  ever  saw.  After 
the  Lord  President  had  asked  her  permission  to  publish 
her  declaration,  she  bowed  consent,  handed  him  the  paper, 
rose,  bowed  all  rovmd,  and  retired,  led  as  before  by  the 
Lord  Chamberlain,  to  the  outer  room,  where  the  attendants 
who  were  not  of  the  Council  had  waited.  The  crowd, 
which  was  not  great  but  very  decent,  at  the  palace  gate, 
expressed  their  approbation  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
and  Sir  R.  Peel,  and  their  disapprobation  of  the  ministers 
(Melbourne  and  Co. )  very  loudly.  Lord  John  Russell  and 
Lord  Normanby  were  positively  hooted.     Lord  Melbourne 

109 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

seemed  to  me  to  look  careworn,  and,  on  the  whole,  the 
meeting  had  a  sombre  air." 

Discussions  anno5''ing  to  the  Queen  followed  with  re- 
gard to  the  precedence  to  be  given  to  the  Prince,  and  as 
to  the  King  of  Hanover  withholding  his  consent.  Whether 
the  Prince's  arms  should  be  quartered  with  the  Queen's 
was  also  a  matter  that  had  to  be  decided,  and  great  discre- 
tion was  shown  by  the  bridegroom  in  the  views  he  wrote 
to  England. 

"  Now  I  come  to  a  second  point  which  you  touch  upon 
in  your  letter,  and  which  I  have  also  much  at  heart ;  I  mean 
the  choice  of  the  persons  who  are  to  belong  to  my  house- 
hold. The  maxim,  'Tell  me  whom  he  associates  with, 
and  I  will  tell  you  who  he  is,'  must  here  especially  not  be 
lost  sight  of.  I  should  wish  particularly  that  the  selection 
should  be  made  without  regard  to  politics,  for  if  I  am  really 
to  keep  myself  free  from  all  parties,  my  people  must  not 
belong  exclusively  to  one  side.  Above  all,  these  appoint- 
ments should  not  be  mere  'party  rewards,'  but  they  should 
possess  other  recommendations  besides  those  of  party. 
Let  them  be  either  of  very  high  rank,  or  very  rich,  or  very 
clever,  or  who  have  performed  important  services  for  Eng- 
land. It  is  very  necessary  that  they  should  be  chosen  from 
both  sides — the  same  number  of  Whigs  as  of  Tories ;  and 
above  all  do  I  wish  that  they  should  be  well-educated  men 
and  of  high  character,  who,  as  I  have  already  said,  shall 
have  distinguished  themselves  in  their  several  positions, 
whether  it  be  in  the  army  or  navy,  or  in  the  scientific 
world." 

At  the  opening  of  Parliament  the  Queen  said  from  the 
throne:  "I  humbly  implore  that  the  divine  blessing  may 
prosper  this  union,  and  render  it  conducive  to  the  interests 
of  my  people,  as  well  as  of  my  own  domestic  happiness; 
and  it  will  be  to  me  a  source  of  the  most  lively  satisfaction 
to  find  the  resolution  I  have  taken  approved  by  my  Parlia- 
ment." 

Fifty  thousand  pounds  had  been  proposed  for  his  in- 
come, but  only  £30,000  was  finally  voted,  a  change  which 

no 


BETROTHAL   AND    MARRIAGE 

gave  less  opportunity  than  had  been  anticipated  for  the 
encouragement  of  art  and  the  support  of  those  national 
objects  which  his  position  demanded. 

When  the  news  was  told  to  him,  he  was  on  his  way  back 
to  England,  and  he  feared  that  the  marriage  was  unpopu- 
lar. His  reception,  as  soon  as  he  reached  our  shores,  was 
sufficient  to  remove  this  impression.  From  Dover  to  Lon- 
don great  crowds,  moved  by  much  enthusiasm,  welcomed 
him. 

The  Queen  wrote  afterwards,  in  thinking  of  this  time: 
"  A  worse  school  for  a  young  girl,  or  one  more  detrimental 
to  all  natural  feelings  and  affections,  cannot  well  be  im- 
agined than  the  position  of  a  Queen  at  eighteen,  without 
experience  and  without  a  husband  to  guide  and  support 
her.  This  the  Queen  can  state  from  painful  experience, 
and  she  thanks  God  that  none  of  her  dear  daughters  are 
exposed  to  such  danger." 

The  marriage  did  not  take  place  until  1840.  On  Feb-  \ 
ruary  loth,  at  the  Chapel  Royal,  St.  James's,  every  place  i 
was  filled  as  the  company  waited  for  the  Queen,  who  left  I 
Buckingham  Palace  with  her  mother  and  the  Duchess  of  | 
Sutherland  at  one  o'clock.  The  bridegroom's  procession 
had  arrived  only  a  few  minutes  before. 

On  the  morning  of  the  day  of  his  w^edding  Prince  Albert 
wrote:  "In  less  than  three  hours  I  shall  stand  before  the  '' 
altar  with  my  dear  bride.  In  these  solemn  moments  I  must 
once  more  ask  your  blessing,  which  I  am  sure  I  shall  re- 
ceive, and  which  will  be  my  safeguard  and  my  future  joy ! 
I  must  end.     God  help  me!" 

Of  all  those  who  accompanied  the  bride  as  her  maids, 
one  only.  Lady  Jane  Bouverie,  remains  alive.  The  others 
were:  Lady  Adelaide  Paget,  Lady  Sarah  Villiers,  Lady 
Frances  Cowper,  Lady  Elizabeth  West,  Lady  Mary  Grim- 
ston.  Lady  Eleanor  Paget,  Lady  Caroline  Lennox,  Lady 
Elizabeth  Howard,  Lady  Ida  Hay,  Lady  Mary  Howard, 
and  Lady  Wilhelmina  Stanhope,  afterwards  Duchess  of 
Cleveland. 

The  bridegroom  waited  near  the  altar  and  entered  into 

in 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

conversation  with  Queen  Adelaide.  He  wore  the  uniform 
of  a  field-marshal  in  the  British  army,  with  the  collar  of 
the  Garter.  The  Duke  of  Sussex  advanced  in  the  bride's 
procession,  and  to  him  the  honor  was  assigned  to  give 
away  the  bride.  Her  dress  is  described  as  of  rich  white 
satin,  trimmed  with  orange-flower  blossoms.  On  her  head 
a  wreath  of  the  same,  over  which,  but  not  so  worn  as  to 
conceal  her  face,  was  a  veil  of  Honiton  lace.  Her  brides- 
maids and  train-bearers  were  in  like  dresses,  but  without 
veils.  She  wore  the  collar  of  the  Garter,  and  the  twelve 
ladies  who  followed  her  made  a  beautiful  group. 

Advancing  up  the  chapel  to  the  music  of  the  national 
anthem,  she  first  knelt,  and  then  sat  down  in  her  chair  of 
state.  In  a  few  moments  she  rose  and  advanced  with 
Prince  Albert  to  the  communion  table,  when  the  service 
was  commenced.  After  the  words  "Those  whom  God 
hath  joined  together  let  no  man  put  asunder"  had  been 
spoken,  the  guns  in  the  Park  and  at  the  Towner  fired  a 
salute. 

The  following  account  was  written  by  one  of  the 
bridesmaids.  Lady  Wilhelmina  Stanhope,  afterwards 
Duchess  of  Cleveland,  and  is  now  published  for  the  first 
time: 

"The  day  proved  very  rainy  early  in  the  morning,  but 
it  cleared  up  at  about  eleven,  and  the  sun  shone  out  bright- 
ly upon  the  bride  as  she  passed  through  the  rooms  with 
her  procession  on  her  way  to  the  chapel. 

"  The  procession  was  thus  formed : 

THE  QUEEN 
Left  Right 

Lady  Adelaide  Paget  Lady  Caroline  Lennox 

Lady  Sarah  Villiers  Lady  Elizabeth  Howard 

Lady  Fanny  Cowper  Lady  Ida  Hay 

Lady  Elizabeth  West  Lady  Wilhelmina  Stanhope 

Lady  Mary  Grimston  Lady  Jane  Bouverie 

Lady  Mary  Howard  Lady  Eleanor  Paget 

"I  arrived  about  eleven  with  my  pendant,  Elizabeth 

112 


BETROTHAL    AND    MARRIAGE 

West.  Our  orders  were  to  go  and  lock  ourselves  up  in  the 
Queen's  dressing-room  till  she  arrived;  and  accordingly 
Lord  Erroll,  whom  we  found  at  the  foot  of  the  staircase, 
gave  us  in  charge  to  a  Mr.  Dobel,  who,  to  our  horror,  mar- 
shalled us  through  the  state  rooms,  filled  with  people 
waiting  to  see  the  procession — some,  as  I  am  told,  having 
been  sitting  there  since  half-past  eight  1 

"  The  dressing-room,  where  the  twelve  young  ladies  in 
tulle  and  white  roses  were  immured  for  one  hour  and  a  half, 
fortunately  commanded  a  view  of  the  park,  and  we  spent 
our  time  in  watching  the  lines  of  Foot  Guards  forming 
under  our  windows,  the  evolutions  of  the  Blues,  who  looked 
a  good  deal  rusted  by  the  rain,  the  people  in  the  park,  etc. 

"At  about  half-past  twelve  the  Queen  arrived,  looking 
as  white  as  a  sheet,  but  not  apparently  nervous.  She  was 
dressed  in  white  satin  and  Honiton  lace,  with  the  collars 
of  her  orders,  which  are  very  splendid,  round  her  neck,  and 
on  her  head  a  very  high  wreath  of  orange  flowers,  a  very 
few  diamonds  studded  into  her  hair  behind,  in  which  was 
fastened  her  veil,  also,  I  believe,  of  Honiton  lace,  and  very 
handsome. 

"Her  train  was  of  white  satin,  trimmed  with  orange 
flowers,  but  rather  too  short  for  the  number  of  j^oung 
ladies  who  carried  it.  We  were  all  huddled  together,  and 
scrambled  rather  than  walked  along,  kicking  each  other's 
heels  and  treading  on  each  other's  gowns. 

"The  Queen  was  perfectly  composed  and  quiet,  but 
unusually  pale.  She  walked  very  slowly,  giving  ample 
time  for  all  the  spectators  to  gratify  their  curiosity,  and  cer- 
tainly she  was  never  before  more  earnestly  scrutinized. 

"  I  thought  she  trembled  a  little  as  she  entered  the  chapel, 
where  Prince  Albert,  the  Queen  Dowager,  and  all  the  royal 
family  were  waiting  for  her.  She  took  her  place  on  the 
left  side  of  the  altar,  and  knelt  down  in  pra3^er  for  a  few 
minutes,  and  Prince  Albert  followed  her  example.  He 
wore  a  field-marshal's  unifonn,  and  two  large  white  satin 
rosettes  on  his  shoulders,  with  the  Garter,  etc.  Perhaps 
he  appeared  awkward    from  embarrassment,  but  he  was 

113 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

certainly  a  good  deal  perplexed  and  agitated  in  delivering 
his  responses. 

"Her  Majesty  was  quite  calm  and  composed.  When 
Prince  Albert  was  asked  whether  he  would  take  this  woman 
for  his  wife,  she  turned  full  round  and  looked  into  his  face 
as  he  replied  '  I  will. '  Her  own  responses  were  given  in 
the  same  clear,  musical  tone  of  voice  with  which  she  read 
her  speeches  in  the  House  of  Lords,  and  in  much  the  same 
manner. 

"The  Duke  of  Sussex  was  greatly  affected,  and  Lord 
Fitzwilliam  was  heard  to  sob  responsively  from  the  gal- 
lery, but  no  one  else  seemed  in  the  least  disturbed.  The 
Duke  of  Sussex  has  a  story  that  no  one  cried  but  one  of 
the  singing  boys;  however,  I  can  vouch  for  his  tears. 
The  Queen's  two  tears,  mentioned  in  the  Morning  Post,  1 
did  not  see. 

"  The  old  Duke  of  Cambridge  was  decidedly  gay,  mak- 
ing very  audible  remarks  from  time  to  time.  The  Queen 
Dowager  looked  quite  the  beau-ideal  of  a  Queen  Dowager — 
grave,  dignified,  and  very  becomingly  dressed  in  purple 
velvet  and  ermine,  and  a  purple  velvet  coiffure  with  a  mag- 
nificent diamond  branch. 

"  After  it  was  over  we  all  filed  out  of  the  chapel  in  the 
same  order,  the  Duke  of  Cambridge  very  gallantly  hand- 
ing the  princesses  down  the  steps  with  many  audible  ci- 
vilities. The  Queen  gave  her  hand  to  her  husband,  who 
led  her  back  through  the  rooms  (where  her  reception  was 
enthusiastic)  to  the  throne  room,  where  the  royal  fam- 
ily, the  Coburgs,  etc.,  signed  their  names  in  the  registry 
book. 

"The  Queen  then  presented  each  of  her  bridesmaids 
with  a  brooch,  an  eagle  (Prince  Albert's  crest)  of  turquoise 
and  pearls.  After  this  she  took  her  departure  down  the 
back  stairs,  at  the  foot  of  which  I  consigned  the  train  to 
Prince  Albert's  care,  who  seemed  a  little  nervous  about  get- 
ting into  the  carriage  with  a  lady  with  a  tail  six  yards  long 
and  voluminous  in  proportion!" 

On  the  return  to  the  palace  the  crowds  heartily  cheered 

114 


BETROTHAL   AND    MARRIAGE 

not  only  the  newly  married  pair,  but  also  many  of  those 
they  recognized,  and  it  was  noticed  that  the  loudest  and 
most  enthusiastic  cheers  accorded  to  any  single  person 
were  reserved  for  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  who  had  not 
been  in  the  royal  procession,  which  had  passed  some  dis- 
tance before  he  appeared.  The  heart  of  the  old  soldier 
seemed  gladdened  by  the  applause. 

The  departure  for  Windsor  followed  in  weather  gloomy 
and  dispiriting.  As  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  towards 
Kensington,  Hyde  Park,  and  Piccadilly,  the  whole  area 
was  more  or  less  thickly  crowded  with  human  beings,  all 
anxiously  expecting  to  see  something  of  the  Queen.  Every- 
where subscriptions  were  raised  to  give  the  poor  a  dinner, 
that  they  might,  with  those  who  were  better  off,  drink  the 
toast  of  "Health  and  happiness  to  Victoria  and  Albert." 

The  Queen  wrote :  "  Our  reception  was  most  enthusiastic, 
hearty,  and  gratifying  in  every  way,  the  people  quite 
deafening  us  wath  their  cheers,  and  horsemen,  gigs,  etc., 
going  along  with  us."  At  Eton  the  boys  accompanied 
the  carriage  to  the  castle.  Two  days  afterwards  the  whole 
family  and  Court  followed  to  Windsor.  There  was  danc- 
ing for  two  nights,  and  on  the  14th  all  returned  again  to 
London.  The  Queen  and  Prince  received  addresses  from 
Parliament,  visited  the  theatres,  and  found  that  the  people 
had  thoroughly  ratified  their  sovereign's  choice.  The  Prince 
had  thereafter  a  great  part  to  play,  for  his  influence  could, 
for  weal  or  woe,  affect  the  position  of  the  crown.  Personal 
character  was  to  have  a  far  greater  effect  in  maintaining 
loyalty  in  proportion  as  the  direct  personal  part  taken 
by  the  sovereign  became  merged  in  ministerial  respon- 
sibility. The  vital  elements  of  the  moral  well-being  of 
the  community  could  be  tainted  or  strengthened  by  the 
personal  example  of  those  set  "  in  the  fierce  light  that  beats 
upon  a  throne."  The  domestic  virtues,  which  ,must  lie 
at  the  root  of  national  health  and  strength,  become  more 
highly  prized  when  those  who  are  at  the  head  of  society 
rightly  conduct  what  is  called  their  private  life,  but  which 
never  can  be  really  private  for  them.      As  the  glare  of 

115 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER   LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

publicity,  through  the  reading  of  newspapers,  increases, 
and  as  the  knowledge  of  the  tastes  of  all  persons  in  public 
positions  becomes  common  knowledge,  public  disapproval 
of  an  evil  example,  where  such  is  shown  bj^  a  sovereign, 
becomes  a  danger  to  the  crown.  If  such  danger  be  raised, 
it  affects  not  only  the  commonweal,  through  scandal,  but 
prevents  the  constitutional  head  of  the  country  from  ex- 
ercising his  proper  influence.  Where  there  is  no  respect 
there  cannot  be  true  deference  paid.  It  was  one  of  the 
many  glories  of  the  reign  of  the  Queen  that  purity  of  con- 
duct lent  weight  to  the  counsels  of  the  monarch.  That 
such  counsels  can  be  used  to  assuage  the  mischief  of  par- 
tisan violence,  to  keep  peace  when  words  of  irritation  would 
have  precipitated  disastrous  wars,  to  preserve  dignity  in 
relations  with  foreign  powers,  to  discriminate  between 
just  and  unjust  causes  of  offence ;  in  short,  to  exercise  sov- 
ereign power,  first  by  impartiality,  and  later  by  experience, 
was  shown,  over  and  over  again,  in  a  very  high  degree, 
during  the  long  and  great  reign  of  Victoria. 

To  those  who  are  so  happy  as  were  the  Prince  and  Queen, 
it  might  be  imagined  that  any  exhibition  of  jealousy  would 
not  have  caused  annoyance.  Injustice,  however,  must 
necessarily  dog  the  footsteps  of  those  in  high  position. 
But  the  Prince  from  the  first  desired,  as  he  said,  to  act 
on  the  principle  which  alwaj^s  guided  him — to  sink  his  own 
individual  existence  in  that  of  his  wife,  to  aim  at  no  power 
by  himself  or  for  himself,  to  shun  all  ostentation,  to  assume 
no  separate  responsibility  before  the  public ;  but  continuing 
anxiously  to  watch  every  part  of  the  public  business  in  order 
to  be  able  to  advise  and  assist  her  at  any  moment  in  any 
of  the  multifarious  and  difficult  questions  brought  before 
her,  whether  political,  social,  or  personal;  as  the  natural 
head  of  her  famil^^  superintendent  of  her  household,  and 
manager  of  her  private  affairs ;  her  sole  confidential  adviser 
in  politics,  and  only  assistant  in  her  communications  with 
the  officers  of  her  government. 

At  first  he  was  never  present  at  interviews  between  the 
Queen  and  her  ministers,  though  he  was  at  great  pains  to 

Ii6 


BETROTHAL    AND    MARRIAGE 

inform  himself  about  everything;  and  though  the  Prime 
Minister  desired  that  the  Queen  should  tell  him  and  show 
him  everj^thing  connected  with  public  affairs,  he  did  not  cit 
this  time  take  much  part  in  the  transaction  of  business. 

"Victoria  allows  me,"  he  said  later,  "to  take  much  part 
in  foreign  affairs,  and  I  think  I  have  already  done  some 
good.  I  always  commit  my  views  to  paper,  and  then 
communicate  them  to  Lord  Melbourne.  He  seldom  an- 
swers me,  but  I  have  often  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
him  act  entirely  in  accordance  with  what  I  have  said." 

In  1841  he  writes:  "All  I  can  say  about  my  political 
position  is  that  I  study  the  politics  of  the  day  with  great 
industry,  and  continue  to  keep  myself  free  from  all  pcirties. 
I  take  active  interest  in  all  national  institutions  and  as- 
sociations. I  speak  quite  openly  with  the  ministers  on  all 
subjects,  so  as  to  obtain  information,  and  meet  on  all  sides 
with  much  kindness.  I  endeavor  quietly  to  be  of  as  much 
use  to  Victoria  in  her  position  as  I  can." 

His  love  of  music  was  fully  shared  by  the  Queen,  and 
he  not  only  enjoyed  it,  but  was  able  himself  to  shine  as  a 
composer.  Famous  musicians  used  to  come  to  Windsor 
and  Buckingham  Palace,  where  there  was  an  organ  in  the 
Prince's  drawing-room,  to  play  to  them. 


CHAPTER  IV 

EARLY    MARRIED    LIFE 

The  Prince's  birthday  was  always  kept  by  the  Queen 
with  those  pleasant  German  customs  which  are  becoming 
every  year  more  customary  among  the  English.  In  this 
country  w^e  never  thought  of  having  Christmas-trees  until 
the  commencement  of  the  Queen's  reign,  and  one  of  the 
first  ever  seen  by  many  persons  at  a  large  party  in  England 
was  set  up  in  the  hall  of  Stafford  House.  Even  now  we 
do  not  make  them  so  much  the  chief  ornament,  and  the 
centre  of  our  Christmas  thanksgiving  and  present-giving, 
as  do  people  on  the  Continent  and  in  America.  Among 
German  congregations  in  the  States  I  have  known  the 
Christmas-tree  introduced  into  the  church,  and  its  lighting 
accompanied  by  a  choral  burst  of  happy  carolling  from 
the  gallery  above.  One  never  heard  of  any  such  cus- 
toms in  English  country  -  houses  in  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. It  is  distinctly  a  happy  feature  introduced  into 
our  winter  life  by  associations  connected  with  the  life  of 
the  Queen. 

So,  also,  in  regard  to  family  fetes  held  on  birthdays. 
No  such  day  ever  passed  in  the  Queen's  home  without  due 
celebration,  and  the  table,  with  the  gifts  sent  to  him  or  her 
who  had  accomplished  another  year  of  pilgrimage,  was  the 
first  thing  that  met  the  e3'e  in  the  breakfast-room.  The 
Prince's  birthday  was  August  26. 

The  autumn  was  largely  spent  at  Windsor.  On  Novem- 
ber 21  their  first  child,  a  daughter,  was  born  to  them. 
The  Prince  was  glad  to  sit  by  the  Queen  in  her  darkened 
room  to  read  and  write  as  she  wished.  No  one  but  him- 
self ever  lifted  her  from  her  bed  to  the  sofa,  and  he  always 

118 


EARLY    MARRIED    LIFE 

helped  to  wheel  her  into  the  next  room.  For  this  purpose 
he  would  come  instantly,  when  sent  for,  from  any  part  of 
the  house,  and,  as  years  went  on,  and  he  became  over- 
whelmed with  work,  this  was  often  done  with  much  in- 
convenience to  himself,  but  he  ever  came  with  a  sweet 
smile  on  his  face.  In  short,  his  care  of  her  was  like  that 
of  a  mother.  Nor  could  there  be  a  wiser  or  more  judicious 
nurse. 

The  baby  received  the  name  of  her  mother.  Early  in 
the  new  year  the  Prince  wrote :  "  The  cold  has  been  intense. 
Nevertheless,  I  managed  in  skating  three  days  ago  to 
break  through  the  ice  in  Buckingham  Palace  gardens. 
I  w^as  making  my  way  to  Victoria,  who  was  standing  on 
the  bank  with  one  of  her  ladies,  and  when  within  some 
few  yards  of  the  bank  I  fell  plump  into  the  water,  and  had 
to  swim  for  two  or  three  minutes  in  order  to  get  out.  Vic- 
toria was  the  only  person  with  the  presence  of  mind  to 
lend  me  assistance,  her  lady  being  more  occupied  in  scream- 
ing for  help.  The  shock  from  the  cold  was  extremely 
painful,  and  I  cannot  thank  Heaven  enough  that  I  escaped 
with  nothing  more  than  a  severe  cold. 

"The  christening  went  off  very  well.  The  child  behaved 
with  great  propriety,  like  a  Christian.  She  was  awake, 
but  did  not  cry  at  all,  and  seemed  to  crow  with  immense 
satisfaction  at  the  lights  and  brilliant  uniforms,  for  she  is 
very  intelligent  and  observant.  The  ceremony  took  place 
at  6.30  P.  M.,  and  after  it  there  was  a  dinner,  and  then  we 
had  some  instrumental  music.  The  health  of  the  little 
one  was  drunk  with  great  enthusiasm.  The  little  girl 
bears  her  Saxon  arms  in  the  middle  of  the  English,  which 
looks  very  pretty." 

The  Saxon  coat  of  arms  has  horizontal  black  bars  upon 
a  yellow  ground,  and  stretched  diagonally  across  the 
field  is  a  cognizance  which  looks  like  a  green  coronet  stretch- 
ed out,  but  is  the  heraldic  representation  of  "a  wreath  of 
rue,"  which  in  Elizabeth's  time  in  England  used  to  be  called 
"  the  herb  of  grace." 

The  Prince  sought  to  set  upon  a  firm  footing  a  question 

119 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

ever  likely  to  recur,  that  of  political  influences  around  the 
Queen.  " I  explained  to  Lord  Melbourne/'  he  wrote,  "that 
I  was  naturally  under  some  uneasiness — that  my  chief 
object  was  the  Queen,  and  my  sole  anxiety  that  nothing 
unconstitutional  should  be  done;  and,  that  the  Queen 
should  come  out  of  the  crisis  this  time  with  more  eclat  than 
she  had  on  a  previous  occasion,  that  it  was  my  duty  and 
his  also  not  only  to  prepare  the  Queen  for  the  possible 
eventuality,  but  also  to  come  with  her  to  an  agreement 
as  to  what  she  and  I  and  he  would  have  to  do.  I  showed 
him  the  points  which  I  had  already  communicated  to  you, 
and  he  agreed  with  me  in  all  of  them." 

It  was  remarkable  that  so  young  a  man  should  put  so 
clearly,  and  in  such  ordered  sequence,  the  means  by  which 
this  and  other  difficulties  could  best  be  met,  and  every 
statesman  who  in  turn  came  into  contact  with  him  was 
struck  by  his  common-sense  abilitj'^,  and  by  his  possession 
of  that  rarest  of  all  qualities,  the  power  of  taking  a  generally 
large  and  just  view  of  any  question. 

'*Our  life  has  been  very  unsettled,"  he  writes  in  1841. 
"We  paid  a  verj^  interesting  and  agreeable  three  days' 
visit  to  the  Archbishop  of  York  at  Newnham,  and  from 
there  I  went  to  Oxford,  where  I  was  well  received.  The 
commemoration  was  postponed  for  my  presence.  The  im- 
pending dissolution  is  now  the  engrossing  topic  of  interest. 
It  empties  purses,  sets  families  by  the  ears,  demoralizes 
the  lower  classes,  and  perverts  many  of  the  upper  whose 
character  wants  strength  to  keep  them  straight.  But 
this,  like  other  things,  comes  to  an  end,  and  so  does  not 
bring  the  body  politic  to  ruin  as  it  might  otherwise  do. 
To-morrow  we  visit  the  Duke  of  Devonshire  at  Chiswick. 
On  Monday  we  go  to  see  the  Trafalgar  launched  at  Wool- 
wich, and  on  Tuesday  prorogue  Parliament.  Thursday 
we  have  a  council  for  the  dissolution  of  Parliament.  To- 
day we  had  a  Chapter  of  the  Bath.  Sir  Charles  Napier 
was  decorated.  Yesterday  was  the  last  drawing-room 
of  the  season,  and  all  the  world  is  rushing  out  of  town  to 
agitate  the  country  for  and  against." 

120 


EARLY    MARRIED    LIFE 

Queen  Louise  of  Belgium  had  been  to  stay  with  them 
on  a  visit  that  gave  Queen  Victoria  great  pleasure.  "  Louise 
is  perfect/'  she  wrote;  "so  excellent,  so  full  of  every 
kind  and  high  feeling.  Glorious  soul!  Albert  is  the  only 
equal  to  her  in  unselfishness;  she  never  thinks  of  herself." 

She  was  much  pleased  with  her  reception  in  the  country. 
"Nothing  could  be  more  enthusiastic  or  affectionate  than 
our  reception  everywhere,  and  I  am  happy  to  hear  that 
our  presence  has  left  a  favorable  impression.  The  loyalty 
in  this  country  is  certainly  very  striking."  She  felt  the 
loss  of  Lord  Melbourne  when  he  had  to  resign,  he  being 
followed  by  Sir  Robert  Peel. 

The  following  extracts  from  letters  from  the  Queen  to  a 
private  friend  belong  to  this  period,  and  may  here  be  con- 
veniently grouped  together : 

"  Many  thanks  for  your  kind  little  note  received  yester- 
day afternoon.  We  shall  be  with  you  at  a  little  after  half- 
past  seven  this  evening.  There  is  one  thing  I  wish  to  ask 
you,  which  is  if  you  have  invited  Lord  Melbourne.  If 
you  have  not  invited  him,  perhaps  you  would  do  so,  as  he 
would  have  dined  with  me  had  I  stayed  at  home.  If  he 
cannot  come  to  dinner,  I  am  sure  he  will  come  after.  As  I 
shall  see  him  this  morning,  may  I  tell  him  so?" 

"Buckingham  Palace,  1839. 

"  Marochetti  is  most  successful  in  his  bust  of  the  Prince, 
and  it  will  be  a  fine  work  of  art.  We  find  him  very  agree- 
able, gentlemanlike,  and  unassuming." 

"March,  1839. 
"  I  should  be  very  sorry  to  interfere  with  your  dinner  to- 
morrow, though  very  greatly  regretting  not  to  see  you.  I 
said  to  you  the  day  o/  my  marriage  that  I  hoped  you  would 
let  Albert  see  your  house  some  day.  It  appears  to  me  that 
before  Easter  would  be  pleasanter  almost  than  after,  as 
there  are  less  engagements.  Would  you  therefore,  per- 
haps, receive  us  some  day  either  at  the  end  of  this  month  or 

121 


VICTORIA  R.  1.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

the  beginning  of  April?  I  am  very  well  to-day,  and  none 
the  worse  for  lavSt  night's  entertainment.  Would  you  dine 
with  us  and  accompany  me  to  the  opening  [of  Parliament] 
on  Saturday?" 

"Buckingham  Palace,  April  i6, 1839. 

"  I  had  been  complaining  to  your  brother  of  your  being 
very  paresseuse  in  not  writing  for  a  long  time.  The  two 
letters  have  made  ample  amends  for  your  long  silence. 

"Rome  must  be  very  interesting,  but  I  should  have 
thought  Naples  so  much  more  gay.  I  am  glad  that  j'^ou 
met  my  cousin,  for  I  had  written  to  him  that  I  hoped  you 
would.  The  Princess  of  Altenburg  is  a  charming  person, 
and  he  is  a  very  good  man.  Both  are  devoted  to  their  little 
baby.  We  expect  the  Grand  Duke  to  come  here  about  the 
end  of  this  month,  but  the  date  of  his  arrival  is  not  yet 
known. 

"Lord  Melbourne,  who  I  fear  has  somewhat  fallen  into 
disgrace  with  you  for  not  writing,  is,  I  am  glad  to  say,  in 
excellent  health." 

"Windsor,  January  21,  1841. 

"  We  are  very  sorrj^^  to  go  to  London,  as  we  enjoy  our- 
selves here  so  much.  We  have  been  driving  these  last 
two  evenings.  Lord  and  Lady  Leveson  are  staying  here. 
He  is  one  of  the  best  drivers,  but  is  now  lame  with  a  bad 
knee. 

"  The  statue  by  Wolfe,  which  is  to  be  placed  in  the  gal- 
lery at  Buckingham  Palace,  is,  I  hear,  beautiful.  Have 
all  your  statues,  etc.,  from  Italy  arrived? 

"  I  must  not  omit  to  tell  you  that  the  christening  of  our 
little  girl  will  take  place  on  February  lo,  in  the  evening, 
at  Buckingham  Palace.  I  should  much  wish  you  to  at- 
tend me  on  that  occasion.  It  will  be  in  full  dress,  and 
everybody  in  white.  There  will  only  be  a  large  full-dress 
dinner  immediatelj''  after  it." 

The  Queen  took  much  interest  in  the  work  of  a  com- 
mission appointed  to  consider  the  artistic  decoration  of 

122 


EARLY  MARRIED  LIFE 

the  new  Houses  of  Parliament,  which  had  been  designed 
by  Barry.  It  was  justly  hoped  that  a  great  opportunity 
might  be  given  by  the  filUng  of  the  panels  in  the  various 
rooms  and  corridors  with  paintings  illustrating  historical 
subjects.  This  was  a  scheme  which  has  only  been  partial- 
ly carried  out,  but  none  of  those  whose  haunt  has  been 
the  lobbies  and  passages  connecting  the  chambers  of  the 
Lords  and  Commons  will  deny  that  the  great  interest 
shown  by  the  public  in  those  works  which  did  receive  a 
place  fully  warrants  the  continued  prosecution  of  the 
scheme.  Art  is  the  handmaid  of  history,  and  has  been 
its  best  teacher. 

A  fine  conception  by  Herbert  representing  Moses  de- 
scending from  Sinai  with  the  Tables  of  the  Law  in  his 
hands  is  an  example  of  how  the  genius  of  English  art  can 
be  called  forth  for  such  occasions.  The  committee-room 
in  which  this  fine  work  is  placed  is  lit  from  above,  so  that 
the  picture  of  the  red  granite  valley  and  mighty  scarred 
mountain-side  of  Sinai,  looking  as  though  forever  seared 
by  the  lightning  which  played  around  it  when  Moses  had 
ascended  from  the  sight  of  the  kneeling  multitude,  is 
visited  by  admiring  groups  whenever  the  doors  are  open 
to  the  public.  Perhaps  it  would  have  been  better  if  the 
picture  of  the  carrying-down  of  the  Tables  of  the  Law  by 
the  great  Jewish  leader  had  been  placed  in  a  position  some- 
what more  remote  from  the  locality  where  the  Lord  Chan- 
cellor and  his  colleagues  proclaim  the  tables  of  the  British 
law. 

There  are  an  almost  endless  number  of  spaces  which 
might  be  similarly  occupied  by  great  designs  calculated 
to  instruct  and  educate  all  who  visit  these  halls,  not  except- 
ing the  legislators  who  discuss  the  speeches  made  during 
the  evening  in  the  smoking-rooms  of  the  Palace  of  West- 
minster. 

Lord  Lyndhurst  was  one  of  the  commission — a  famous 
ex-Chancellor,  who  wore  a  brown  wig  and  was  fond  of 
making  speeches  which  were  not  exempt  from  that  drj', 
even-voiced  delivery  to  which  those  of  his  profession  seem, 

123 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

with  few  exceptions,  to  be  predestined  from  their  birth. 
The  Duke  of  Sutherland  was  another  commissioner  —  a 
man  possessed  of  great  refinement  of  taste,  but  from  his 
deafness  too  soon  withdrawn  from  the  public  occupations 
he  might  otherwise  long  have  adorned.  Lord  Lansdowne, 
with  his  honest  English  face  and  shaggj'-  gray  eye- 
brows and  shabby  gray  hat,  still  wearing  the  blue  coat 
and  brass  buttons  of  a  previous  generation,  was  an- 
other. Then  there  was  Lord  Aberdeen,  with  his  sagacious, 
heavy  features,  and  gray  hair  brushed  forward — a  fashion 
adopted  by  Viscount  Melbourne,  who  likewise  sat  on  the 
commission.  Of  the  others,  there  were  Lord  Ashburton, 
whose  wealth  was  so  largely  bestowed  on  the  magnificent 
collection  of  illuminated  manuscripts  but  recently  dis- 
persed ;  Lord  Sea  ton,  bearing  a  name  famous  in  militar}^ 
history;  Lord  Eversley,  who  had  been  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  who  is  reputed  to  have  believed 
that  he  could  daunt  any  member  of  the  House  by  the  mere 
severity  of  the  glance  that  shot  from  his  expressive  eyes — 
a  talent  which  Speaker  Denison,  who  soon  followed  him  in 
the  chair,  was  wont  modestly  to  say  that  he  could  not  claim 
to  possess;  Lord  Lincoln,  the  eldest  son  of  the  Duke  of 
Newcastle,  afterwards  well  known  to  the  public  as  a  much- 
abused  Minister  of  War,  held  responsible  for  many  of  the 
shortcomings  the  War  Office  revealed  by  our  unprepared- 
ness  at  the  commencement  of  the  Crimean  War ;  Lord  John 
Russell — "Magnum  in  Parvo,"  as  he  was  called;  Lord 
Francis  Egerton,  the  Duke  of  Sutherland's  brother,  learn- 
ed in  art,  and  possessing  one  of  the  finest  collections  in 
London;  Lord  Palmerston;  Sir  Robert  Peel;  Sir  James 
Graham,  genial  and  clever;  the  Squire  of  Netherby, 
and  others,  among  whom  was  Tennyson's  friend,  the 
historian  Hallam;  Samuel  Rogers;  Lord  Mahon,  the 
historian  of  the  Spanish  War  of  Succession,  afterwards 
Lord  Stanhope;  and  Macaulay — a  sufficient^  numerous 
body,  with  Eastlake  of  the  Royal  Academy  to  act  as 
secretary. 

'  The  latter  describes  the  Prince  as  entering  alone  to  see 

124 


THE   QUEEN    IN    184O 
(From  a  painting  by  William  Fowler) 


EARLY    MARRIED    LIFE 

him  before  the  first  meeting.  "He  made,"  he  says,  "at 
once  for  the  window  recess  in  which  I  had  been  standing, 
though  on  his  entering  I  advanced  to  the  middle  of  the 
room  and  bowed.  He  stood  kneeling  with  one  knee  on  a 
chair  while  he  talked,  so  that  we  were  at  close  quarters  in  a 
strong  light,  which  showed  his  beautiful  face  to  great  ad- 
vantage. There  was  nothing  in  his  exterior  so  striking 
as  his  face.  He  is  exactly  like  the  engraving  from  Ross's 
miniature,  but  now  a  little  stouter.  He  soon  put  me  at 
my  ease  by  his  pleasant  manner.  After  speaking  of  Sir 
Robert  Peel  and  the  immediate  cause  of  my  waiting  on 
him  myself,  we  proceeded  to  discuss  the  question  which 
was  hereafter  to  engage  our  attention  more.  I  listened 
to  his  plans,  and  made  objections  where  I  thought  it  neces- 
sary. Two  or  three  times  I  quite  forgot  who  he  was — he 
talked  so  naturally  and  argued  so  fairly.  I  thought  that 
the  moment  was  come  when  I  must  make  a  stand  against 
the  introduction  of  foreign  artists,  for  if  he  had  insisted 
upon  this  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  resign  my  secretarj^- 
ship.  I  almost  said  as  much  by  observing  that  I  was  ir- 
revocably committed  on  that  point  by  my  letter  to  the 
chairman  of  the  late  committee.  He  said  he  knew  I  was, 
for  he  had  read  that  letter.  He  added,  however,  that  he 
quite  agreed  with  me.  I  said  I  saw  no  objection  to  English 
artists,  who  might  be  intrusted  with  the  management  of 
considerable  works,  employing  Germans  under  them. 
To  my  agreeable  surprise.  Prince  Albert  would  not  even 
admit  that  this  was  necessary,  for  he  said  he  was  convinced 
that  in  all  that  related  to  practical  dexterity,  which  was  a 
department  in  which  it  was  assumed  that  some  instruc- 
tion for  frescos  would  be  necessary,  the  English  were  par- 
ticularly skilful.  He  observed  that  'in  all  mere  me- 
chanism the  English  surpass  all  other  nations;  even  to 
the  varnish  on  coaches  it  is  surprising  how  much  more 
perfect  the  English  practice  is  than  what  one  sees  on  the 
Continent.'" 

Eastlake  observed  that  "the  Prince  spoke  English  al- 
most perfectly  as  to  idiom.     Alluding  to  the  means  b}^ 

125 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

which  a  school  of  rising  fresco-painters  might  be  en- 
couraged, he  said,  '  There  are  two  great  auxiHaries  in  this 
country  which  seldom  fail  to  promote  the  success  of  any 
scheme,  viz.,  fashion  and  a  high  example.  Fashion,  we 
know,  is  all  in  all  in  England,  and  if  the  Court — I  mean  the 
Queen  and  myself — set  the  example  hereafter  by  having 
works  of  this  kind  done,  the  same  taste  will  extend  itself  to 
wealthy  individuals.  The  English  country-seats,  which 
are  the  most  beautiful  in  the  world,  will  acquire  additional 
effect  from  the  introduction  of  such  a  style  of  decoration, 
and  with  such  occupation  the  school  would  never  lan- 
guish, and  would  at  least  have  time  to  develop  itself  fully.' 
I  said  that  fresco  might  in  some  sorts  be  compared  to 
sculpture,  which  could  conceal  nothing,  and  in  which  the 
need  of  definement  involved  the  necessity  of  beauty.  The 
Prince  paid  me  the  gracious  compliment  of  saying,  'You 
have  expressed  in  a  few  words  what  I  have  said  in  many.' " 
I  After  the  Prince  of  Wales's  birth,  which  took  place  on 
/November  9,  1841,  the  Queen  wrote  to  King  Leopold:  "I 
wonder  very  much  whom  our  little  boy  will  be  like.  You 
will  understand  how  fervent  are  my  prayers,  and  I  am 
sure  everybody's  must  be,  to  see  him  resemble  his  father 
in  every  respect,  both  in  body  and  mind.  Oh!  my  dearest 
uncle,  I  am  sure  if  you  knew  how  happy,  how  blessed  I  feel, 
and  how  proud  in  possessing  such  a  perfect  being  as  my 
husband!  And  when  you  think  that  you  have  been  in- 
strumental in  bringing  about  this  union,  it  must  gladden 
your  heart.  We  must  all  have  trials  and  vexations,  but 
if  one's  home  is  happy  then  the  rest  is  comparatively 
nothing.  I  assure  you,  dear  uncle,  that  no  one  feels 
this  more  than  I  do.  I  had  this  autumn  one  of  the  sever- 
est trials  I  could  have  in  parting  with  my  government, 
and  particularly  from  our  kind  and  valued  friend,  and 
I  feel  even  now  this  last  very  much ;  but  my  happiness  at 
home,  with  the  love  of  my  husband,  his  kindness,  his  ad- 
vice, his  support,  and  his  company,  make  up  for  all,  and 
make  me  forget." 

One  of  the  best  of  the  pictures  of  ceremonies  in  the  col- 

126 


EARLY    MARRIED    LIFE 

lection  at  Windsor  is  that  of  the  christening  of  the  Prince 
of  Wales  in  St.  George's  Chapel.  "How  impossible/'  said 
the  Queen,  "it  is  to  describe  how  beautiful  and  impos- 
ing the  effect  of  the  whole  scene  was  in  the  fine  old  chapel, 
with  the  banners  and  music,  and  the  light  shining  upon 
the  altar!"  In  those  days  the  great  east  window  above 
that  altar  had  been  filled  in  with  a  mighty  picture  in  glass, 
which  afterwards  gave  way  to  the  far  more  decorative  em- 
blazonment, giving  in  jewelled  colors  the  figures  through 
which  the  morning  sun  now  shines  down  on  sculptured 
oak  and  the  flags  bearing  the  anns  of  the  Garter  Knights. 
It  is  always  a  mistake  to  attempt  more  in  glass  than  a 
suggestion  of  a  scene,  which,  to  make  a  colored  window 
effective,  must  be  rendered  in  hues  far  too  bright  for  a 
faithful  representation  of  nature. 

Baroness  Bunsen  describes  the  opening  of  Parliament: 
"  A  great  scene,  from  which  I  had  expected  much,  and  was 
not  disappointed.  The  throngs  in  the  streets,  in  the  win- 
dows, on  every  spot  where  foot  could  stand,  all  looking 
so  pleased.  The  splendid  Horse  Guards,  the  Grenadier 
Guards — of  whom  it  might  be  said, '  An  appearance  so  fine 
you  know  not  how  to  believe  it  true ' — the  Yeomen  of  the 
Body  Guard.  Then,  in  the  House  of  Lords,  the  peers  in 
their  robes,  the  beautifully  dressed  ladies,  with  the  many, 
many  beautiful  faces.  Last,  the  procession  of  the  Queen's 
entry,  and  herself  looking  worthy  and  fit  to  be  the  con- 
verging point  of  so  many  rays  of  grandeur.  The  com- 
posure with  which  she  filled  the  throne  while  awaiting  the 
Coimnons  was  a  test  of  character — no  fidget  and  no  apathy. 
Then  her  voice  and  enunciation  could  not  be  more  perfect. 
In  short,  it  could  not  be  said  that  she  did  well,  but  that  she 
was  the  Queen.  She  was,  and  felt  herself  to  be,  the  ac- 
knowledged chief  among  grand  national  realities.  Placed 
in  a  narrow  space  behind  her  Majesty's  mace-bearers, 
and  peeping  over  their  shoulders,  I  w^as  enabled  to  hide  and 
subdue  the  emotion  I  felt,  conscious  of  the  mighty  pages 
in  the  world's  historj'  condensed  in  the  words  so  impress- 
ively uttered  in  the  silver  tones  of  that  feminine  voice — 

127 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

peace  and  war,  the  fate  of  millions,  the  relations  of  coun- 
tries, the  exertions  of  power  felt  to  the  extremities  of  the 
globe,  alterations  of  laws,  the  birth  of  a  future  sovereign 
mentioned  in  solemn  thanksgiving  to  Him  in  whose  hands 
are  nation  and  ruler.  With  what  should  one  respond  but 
with  a  heartfelt  aspiration :  '  God  bless  and  guide  her,  for 
her  sake  and  the  sake  of  all. ' " 

An  attempt  was  soon  afterwards  made  upon  the 
Queen's  life  by  a  young  man.  The  Prince,  in  referring 
to  this,  said  of  his  wife,  "She  has  most  of  the  toil  and 
least  of  the  enjoyments  of  the  world,"  and  gave  the  fol- 
lowing account  to  his  father  of  what  he  described  as  "  the 
dreadful  occurrence  of  yesterday."  "On  Sunday,  the 
29th,"  he  wrote,  "as  we  were  returning  from  the  Chapel 
Royal,  St.  James's  Palace,  at  two  o'clock,  as  we  drove 
along  the  Mall  there  was  the  usual  crowd  of  spectators 
under  the  trees  on  our  left,  who  bowed  and  cheered.  When 
we  were  nearly  opposite  Stafford  House  I  saw  a  man  step 
out  from  the  crowd  and  present  a  pistol  fully  at  me.  He 
was  some  two  paces  from  us.  I  heard  the  trigger  snap, 
but  it  must  have  missed  fire.  I  turned  to  Victoria,  who 
was  seated  on  my  right,  and  asked  her,  'Did  you  hear 
that?'  She  had  been  bowing  to  the  people  on  the  right, 
and  had  observed  nothing.  I  said,  'I  may  be  mistaken, 
but  I  feel  sure  I  saw  some  one  take  aim  at  us.'  When  we 
reached  the  palace  I  asked  the  footmen  who  had  been  at 
the  back  of  the  carriage  if  they  had  not  noticed  a  man  step 
forward  and  stretch  his  hand  towards  the  carriage,  as  if  he 
wanted  to  throw  a  petition  into  it.  They  had  noticed  noth- 
ing. We  were  immediately  impressed  with  the  importance 
of  keeping  what  had  occurred  a  profound  secret.  I  did  not 
breathe  a  syllable  about  it  to  any  one  except  Colonel  Ar- 
buthnot,  to  whom  I  told  what  had  happened,  and  directed 
him  to  make  it  known  forthwith  to  the  Inspector  of  Police. 
I  then  ran  out  upon  the  balcony  to  see  whether  the  man  had 
not  been  caught,  which  would  have  led  to  the  commotion  of 
hundreds  crowding  round  him;  but  all  was  quiet,  and  the 
people  dispersed,  satisfied  with  having  seen  the  Queen. 

128 


EARLY    MARRIED    LIFE 

"  In  the  afternoon  Sir  Robert  Peel,  with  the  head  of  the 
poHce,  came  and  took  down  my  statement  in  writing,  to- 
gether with  a  description  of  the  man's  appearance.  I  be- 
gan almost  to  distrust  myself  and  what  I  had  seen,  as  no 
one  else  had  noticed  anything,  and  we  were  driving  rapidly 
at  the  time.  Yesterday  morning  a  boy  of  fourteen,  who 
stutters  greatly,  came  to  Mr.  Murray  and  said  he  had  seen 
a  man  present  a  pistol  at  us  as  we  were  returning  from 
church,  but  not  fire,  exclaiming  afterwards,  'Fool  that  I 
was  not  to  fire!'  The  thing  had  also  been  seen  by  an 
elderly  gentleman,  who  had  turned  round  and  said,  '  This 
is  something  too  strange.'  The  boy  followed  the  gentle- 
man, fancying  he  would  go  and  report  the  matter  to  the 
police,  and  thinking  he  might  be  wanted  as  a  witness, 
but  the  gentleman  walked  up  St.  James's  Street.  Here 
he  turned  round,  having  observed  that  the  boy  continued 
to  follow  him,  repeated  his  former  exclamation,  asked  the 
boy's  name,  age,  and  address,  and  wrote  them  down. 
Pearse,  thinking  that  the  affair  was  in  good  hands,  went 
home,  but  as  he  heard  no  more  of  the  gentleman  he  came 
to  the  palace.  There  was  now  no  longer  any  doubt,  so  we 
sent  the  boy  to  the  Home  Office,  where  his  evidence  was 
taken  down.  The  police  showed  the  greatest  activity. 
We  were  naturally  much  agitated.  Victoria  very  nervous 
and  unwell.  As  the  doctor  wished  that  she  should  go  out, 
we  determined  to  do  so,  for  we  should  have  had  to  shut 
ourselves  up  for  months  had  we  settled  not  to  go  out  so 
long  as  the  miscreant  was  at  large.  Besides,  as  he  could 
have  no  suspicion  he  was  watched,  we  felt  sure  he  would 
again  come  skulking  about  the  palace,  and  that  the  numer- 
ous policemen  in  plain  clothes  who  were  on  the  lookout 
for  him  would  seize  him  on  the  least  imprudence  on  his 
part.  We  drove  out  at  four  o'clock,  gave  orders  to 
drive  faster  than  usual,  and  for  the  two  equerries. 
Colonel  Wilde  and  Colonel  Arbuthnot,  to  ride  close  to 
the  carriage.  You  may  imagine  that  our  minds  were 
not  very  easy.  We  looked  behind  every  tree,  and  I  cast 
my  eyes  around  in  search  of  the  rascal's  face.  We, 
I  129 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

however,  got  safely  through  the  parks  and  drove  towards 
Hampstead." 

It  was  when  returning  from  Hampstead  that  the  attempt 
on  the  Queen's  hfe  was  made.  "  Owing  to  the  rapid  pace 
at  which  we  were  going/'  wrote  one  of  the  equerries,  "my 
horse  being  very  near  to  the  man,  he  was  disconcerted,  and 
he  aimed  too  low.  Her  Majesty  heard  the  report,  and  her 
extraordinary  calmness  was  wonderful.  She  was  natural- 
ly affected,  but  did  not  betray  the  slightest  appearance  of 
alarm,  but  was  as  calm  and  as  collected  as  when  looking  at 
the  view  at  Hampstead.  Prince  Albert  struck  me  as  being 
very  much  affected  at  her  Majesty's  providential  escape." 

Prince  Albert  wrote :  "  The  shot  must  have  passed  under 
the  carriage,  for  he  lowered  his  hand.  We  felt  as  if  a  load 
had  been  taken  off  our  hearts,  and  we  thanked  the  Al- 
mighty for  having  preserved  us  from  so  great  a  danger. 
John  Francis,  for  that  is  the  man's  name,  was  standing 
near  a  policeman,  who  immediately  seized  him,  but  could 
not  prevent  the  shot.  It  was  the  same  spot  where  Oxford 
had  fired  at  us  two  years  ago,  with  this  difference  only, 
that  Oxford  was  standing  on  our  left,  with  his  back  to  the 
garden  wall." 

The  Queen,  the  Prince's  secretary  thought,  had  fully 
expected  it,  and  it  was  a  relief  to  her  to  have  it  over.  She 
had  for  some  time  been  under  the  impression  that  one  of 
these  mad  attempts  would  be  made.  She  said  she  never 
could  have  existed  under  the  uncertainty  of  a  concealed 
attack.  She  would  rather  run  the  inmiediate  risk  at  any 
time  than  have  the  presentiment  of  danger  constantly 
hovering  over  her.  She  was  much  gratified  by  the  kind 
feeling  the  people  had  shown.  She  said  to  Lady  Bloom- 
field  :  "  I  dare  say,  Georgie,  you  were  surprised  at  not  driv- 
ing with  me  this  afternoon ;  but  the  fact  was  that,  as  we 
returned  from  church  yesterday,  a  man  presented  a  pistol 
at  the  carriage  window,  which  flashed  in  the  pan.  We 
were  so  taken  by  surprise  that  he  had  time  to  escape,  so 
that  I  knew  what  was  hanging  over  me,  and  I  was  deter- 
mined to  expose  no  life  but  my  own." 

130 


EARLY    MARRIED   LIFE 

'*I  was  not  at  all  frightened/'  she  wrote  to  her  uncle, 
"and  feel  very  proud  at  dear  Uncle  Mensdorff  calling  me 
courageous,  which  I  shall  ever  remember  with  delight, 
coming  from  so  distinguished  an  officer  as  he  is." 

Nothing  could  exceed  the  indignation  of  the  people,  and 
the  magnificent  reception  which  the  Queen  received  at  the 
Italian  Opera,  to  which  she  went  the  same  night.  The 
audience  burst  into  cheers  and  called  for  the  national  an- 
them. This  was  only  one  of  the  many  signs  given  of  the 
love  her  people  felt  towards  her. 

During  the  stay  of  the  King  of  Prussia,  who  visited  the 
Queen  in  the  opening  months  of  1842,  Madame  Bunsen 
and  her  husband  were  invited  to  Windsor. 

"I  always  liked  the  visit  to  Windsor,"  she  wrote;  "the 
comfortable  quiet  and  independence,  in  which  one  could 
spend  as  much  time  as  one  likes  of  the  day  in  one's  com- 
fortable rooms,  where  I  have  written  letters  and  read 
books  for  which  I  had  no  time  in  London.  If  the 
ladies-in-waiting  are  agreeable,  one  could  walk  or  drive 
with  them,  to  go  to  see  the  Queen's  dogs  in  their  establish- 
ment, or  the  exquisite  poultry  yard,  or  the  beautiful  dairy- 
house. 

"  But  I  had  a  favorite  haunt  on  the  summit  of  the  slopes, 
and  made  the  particular  acquaintance  of  the  Australian 
pines,  which  were  very  flourishing,  securely  sheltered 
from  winds  by  the  castle.  And  the  periods  of  State  stiff- 
ness were,  after  all,  restricted  within  the  narrowest  imag- 
inable bounds — only  from  eight  to  eleven.  Such  a  visit 
was  always  a  rest  instead  of  an  extra  exertion. 

"Windsor,  January  28,  1842. — I  was  at  work  till  three, 
then  came  by  railway  to  Windsor,  and  found  that  in  the 
York  Tower  a  comfortable  set  of  rooms  were  awaiting  me. 
The  upper  housemaid  gave  us  tea  and  bread  and  butter — 
very  refreshing.  When  dressed  we  went  together  outside 
our  rooms  through  the  corridor,  and  soon  met  Lord  De  la 
Warr,  the  Duchess  of  Buccleuch,  and  Lord  and  Lady 
Westmorland.  The  former  showed  us  where  to  go,  that 
is,  to  walk  through  the  corridor — a  fairy  scene,  lights, 

131 


VICTORIA  R.  1.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

pictures,  moving  figures  of  courtiers  unknown — to  apart- 
ments, which  we  passed  through  one  after  another  till  we 
reached  the  magnificent  ballroom,  where  the  guests  were 
assembled  to  await  the  Queen's  appearance. 

"Among  those  guests  stood  our  King  of  Prussia,  him- 
self punctual  at  haK-past  seven.  Soon  came  Prince  Al- 
bert, to  whom  Lord  De  la  Warr  named  me,  when  the  Prince 
spoke  to  me  of  Rome.  We  had  not  been  there  long  before 
two  gentlemen,  walking  in  by  the  same  door  by  which  we 
had  entered,  and  then  turning  and  making  profound  bows 
towards  the  open  door,  showed  that  the  Queen  was  coming. 
She  approached  me  directly,  and  said,  with  a  gracious 
smile,  '  I  am  very  much  pleased  to  see  you. '  Then,  after 
speaking  a  few  moments  to  the  King,  she  took  his  arm  and 
moved  on. 

" '  God  Save  the  Queen '  began  to  sound  at  the  same  mo- 
ment from  the  Waterloo  Gallery,  where  the  Queen  has  al- 
ways dined  since  the  King  has  been  with  her.  Lord  Had- 
dington led  me  to  dinner,  and  one  of  the  King's  suite  sat 
on  the  other  side.  The  scene  was  one  of  fairy  tales  of  in- 
describable magnificence — the  proportions  of  the  hall  and 
the  mass  of  light  in  suspension,  the  gold  plate  on  the  table, 
and  the  glittering  of  the  thousand  lights  in  branches  of  a 
proper  height  not  to  meet  the  eye.  The  King's  health  was 
drunk,  then  the  Queen's ;  then  her  Majesty  rose  and  went 
out,  followed  by  all  the  ladies. 

"  During  the  half-hour  or  less  that  elapsed  before  Prince 
Albert,  the  King,  etc.,  followed  the  Queen,  she  did  not  sit, 
but  went  round  to  speak  to  the  different  ladies.  She  asked 
after  my  children,  and  gave  me  an  opportunity  of  thanking 
her  for  the  gracious  permission  to  behold  her  Majesty  so 
soon  after  my  arrival  from  Germany.  The  Duchess  of 
Kent  also  spoke  to  me,  and  I  was  very  glad  of  the  notice  of 
Lady  Lyttelton,  who  is  very  charming. 

"As  soon  as  the  King  came,  the  Queen  went  into  the 
ballroom  and  made  the  King  dance  a  quadrille  with  her, 
which  he  did  wdth  all  suitable  grace  and  dignity,  though 
he  has  long  ceased  to  dance.     At  half-past  eleven,  after  the 

132 


EARLY    MARRIED    LIFE 

Queen  had  retired,  I  set  out  on  ray  travels  to  my  bedcharnber. 
I  might  have  looked  and  wandered  some  miles  before  I 
found  my  door  of  exit,  but  was  helped  by  an  old  gentleman 
— I  believe  Lord  Albemarle.  [This  was  a  brother  of  the 
Earl  who  died  only  recently,  and  who  as  a  young  man 
fought  at  Waterloo.] 

"  February  3,  1842. — Monday. — Dined  at  Stafford  House 
where  we  were  received  with  the  greatest  kindness.  I  was 
presented  to  the  Duchess  of  Gloucester,  who  called  me  '  the 
daughter  of  her  old  friend  Mrs.  Waddington.'  Being 
taken  to  dinner  by  Lord  John  Russell,  I  found  him  a  most 
agreeable  neighbor.  He  is  one  of  the  persons  with  whom 
I  got  directly  out  of  emptiness  of  phrases. 

"Stafford  House  was  beautiful,  the  staircase  especially. 
A  fine  band  played  the  whole  evening,  concluding  with  a 
composition  of  Prince  Radziwill  [a  Prussian  prince  of  Polish 
family,  close  friends  of  the  German  Emperor,  William  I.]. 

"The  Duke  of  Sussex  and  the  Duchess  of  Inverness 
spoke  to  me  and  asked  me  to  their  luncheon  the  next  day, 
given  to  the  King  of  Prussia.  On  Tuesday  the  way  to 
Kensington  Palace  was  lined  by  school-children  with  flags, 
and  crowds  of  people.  The  Duke  of  Sussex  received  me, 
and  brought  me  into  the  library  to  the  Duchess  of  Glouces- 
ter and  Princess  Sophia  [daughter  of  George  III.],  who 
spoke  most  kindly  and  made  me  sit  between  them.  When 
they  rose  to  speak  to  somebody  else  I  slipped  away,  and 
got  to  a  modest  distance.  At  dinner  I  sat  between  Alex- 
ander Humboldt  [the  famous  traveller]  and  Lord  Palmers- 
ton,  whom  I  also  found  very  ready  to  talk. 

"  The  King's  visit  to  Lambeth  on  Wednesday  was,  per- 
haps, one  of  the  most  suitable  and  one  of  the  most  agree- 
able to  him  of  any  he  has  made,  from  the  magnificence  of 
the  building,  the  historical  associations,  and  the  admirable 
choice  of  the  company — bishops  and  clergy  and  a  few  be- 
sides; no  ladies  but  Mrs.  Blomfield  and  one  other.  The 
King  enjoyed  himself,  and  sat  for  some  time  afterwards 
talking  to  the  Archbishop.  He  asked  Lord  Ashley  to 
come  and  visit  him  at  Berlin." 

133 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

Letters  from  Mendelssohn  describe  a  visit  paid,  by  the 
Queen's  command,  to  Buckingham  Palace,  where,  in  a 
room  facing  the  garden,  and  adjoining  a  set  of  apartments 
where  Prince  Albert  collected  a  fine  library,  the  great  mu- 
sician played  on  an  organ  which  still  remains  where  the 
Prince  placed  it. 

"I  found  the  Prince  alone,"  wrote  Mendelssohn,  "  and 
then  the  Queen  came  in,  also  alone,  in  a  simple  morning 
dress.  I  begged  that  the  Prince  would  first  play  me  some- 
thing, so  that,  as  I  said, '  I  might  boast  about  it  in  Germany.' 
He  played  a  chorale  by  Hertz,  with  the  pedals,  so  charm- 
ingly and  clearly  and  correctly  as  would  have  done  credit 
to  any  professional.  Then  it  was  my  turn,  and  I  began 
my  chorus  from  'St.  Paul,'  'How  lovely  are  the  messen- 
gers.' Before  I  got  to  the  end  of  the  first  verse  they  both 
joined  in  the  chorus,  and  all  the  time  Prince  Albert  man- 
aged the  stops  for  me  so  cleverly — first  a  flute  at  the  forte, 
the  great  organ  at  the  D  major  part  of  the  whole,  then  he 
made  a  lovely  diminuendo  with  the  stops,  and  so  on  to  the 
end  of  the  piece,  and  all  by  heart — that  I  was  really  quite  en- 
chanted. The  Queen  asked  if  I  had  written  any  new  songs, 
and  said  she  was  very  fond  of  singing  my  published  ones. 
'You  should  sing  one  to  him,'  said  Prince  Albert;  and, 
after  a  little  begging,  she  said  she  would  try  the '  Friihling's 
Lied '  in  B  flat.  'If  it  is  still  here,'  she  added,  'for  all  my 
music  is  packed  up  for  Claremont.'  Prince  Albert  went 
to  look  for  it,  and  came  back  saying  it  was  already  packed. 
The  servants  were  sent  after  it  without  success.  At  last  the 
Queen  went  herself,  and  while  she  was  gone  Prince  Albert 
said  to  me, '  She  begs  you  will  accept  this  present  as  a  re- 
membrance,' and  gave  me  a  little  case  with  a  beautiful 
ring  on  which  is  engraved  'V.  R.  1842.' 

"  The  Queen  came  back  and  said,  '  Lady has  gone, 

and  has  taken  all  my  things  with  her.  It  really  is  most 
annoying.'  I  then  begged  that  I  might  not  be  made  to  suf- 
fer for  the  accident,  and  hoped  she  would  sing  another 
song.  After  some  consultation  with  her  husband,  he  said, 
'  She  will  sing  you  something  of  Gliick's.'  We  proceeded  to 

134 


EARLY    MARRIED   LIFE 

the  Queen's  sitting-room,  where  there  was  a  piano.  The 
Duchess  of  Kent  came  in,  and,  while  they  were  all  talking, 
I  rummaged  about  among  the  music,  and  soon  discovered 
my  first  set  of  songs,  so,  of  course,  I  begged  her  rather  to 
sing  one  of  those  than  the  Gliick,  to  which  she  kindly  con- 
sented. And  which  should  she  choose?  'Schoner  und 
Schoner  Schmiickt  sich.'  Sang  it  quite  charmingly,  in 
strict  time  and  tune,  and  with  very  good  execution.  The 
last  G  I  never  heard  better  or  purer,  or  more  natural,  from 
any  amateur.  Then  I  was  obliged  to  confess  that  Fanny 
had  written  the  song,  which  I  found  very  hard — but  pride 
must  have  a  fall — and  begged  her  to  sing  one  of  my  own 
also.  If  I  would  give  her  plenty  of  help  she  would  gladly 
try,  she  said ;  and  then  she  sang  the  '  Pilger's  Spruch '  and 
'  Lass  dich  Nur,'  really  quite  faultlessly  and  with  charming 
feeling  and  expression.  I  thought  to  myself  one  must  not 
pay  too  many  compliments  on  such  an  occasion,  so  that  I 
merely  thanked  her  a  great  many  times,  upon  which  she 
said, '  Oh!  if  I  only  had  not  been  so  frightened.  Generally 
I  have  such  long  breath.'  Then  I  praised  her  heartily, 
and  with  the  best  conscience  in  the  world.  Just  that  part 
with  the  long  G  at  the  close  she  had  done  so  well,  taking 
the  three  following  and  connecting  notes  in  the  same  breath 
as  one  seldom  hears  it  done,  and  therefore  it  amused  me 
doubly  that  she  herself  should  have  begun  about  it. 

"  After  this,  Prince  Albert  sang  another  song,  and  then 
he  said  I  must  play  him  something  before  I  went,  and  gave 
me  as  themes  the  chorale  which  he  had  played  on  the  organ, 
and  the  song  which  he  had  just  sung.  If  everything  had 
gone  as  usual  I  ought  to  have  improvised  most  dreadfully 
badly,  for  it  is  almost  always  like  that  with  me  when  I  want 
it  to  go  well,  and  then  I  should  have  gone  away  vexed  the 
whole  morning.  But  just  as  if  I  were  to  keep  nothing  but  the 
pleasantest,  most  charming  recollections  of  it,  I  never  im- 
provised better.  I  was  in  the  best  mood  for  it,  and  enjoyed 
it  myself,  so  that  between  the  two  themes  I  brought  in  the 
two  songs  which  the  Queen  had  sung  naturally  enough. 
It  went  off  so  easily  that  I  would  gladly  not  have  stopped. 

135 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

They  followed  me  with  so  much  intelligence  and  attention 
that  I  felt  more  at  ease  than  I  ever  did  in  improvising  to  an 
audience.  She  said  several  times  she  hoped  I  \vould  soon 
come  to  England  again  and  pay  them  a  visit.  And  then 
I  took  my  leave." 

It  was  often  alleged  that  the  Queen  and  the  Prince  were 
too  fond  of  encouraging  foreign  artists  at  the  expense  of 
English,  but  there  was  no  artist  of  whom  more  was  seen  at 
Court  than  the  English  Landseer,  from  whom  sketches  in 
chalk  and  pencil,  as  well  as  oil  pictures,  from  the  subject 
of  the  little  marmoset  monkeys,  peering  over  a  pine-apple, 
to  his  large  canvases,  such  as  that  of  the  "  Deer  Drive  in 
the  Black  Mount  Forest  of  Argyleshire, "  were  in  con- 
stant demand ;  for  the  Queen,  whose  guest  he  often  was, 
was  a  great  admirer  of  his  genius.  Maclise,  Stanfield, 
Eastlake,  and  many  more  w^ere  also  among  the  artists 
of  British  birth  whom  she  delighted  to  honor.  But  it 
was  fully  seen  that  for  some  phases  of  art  it  was  not  nec- 
essary to  keep  only  to  the  native  school,  and  that  it  was 
best  to  introduce  to  the  knowledge  of  the  island  public 
the  delightful  art  of  some  who  had  been  born  abroad. 
Faithfulness  of  portraiture,  such  as  that  shown  by  Win- 
terhalter,  was  often,  in  his  case,  united  to  a  certain  stiff- 
ness of  attitude  and  hardness  of  painting.  And  it  must 
be  confessed  that,  with  the  exception  of  Wilkie,  the  early 
Victorian  age  was  as  poor  in  great  portrait-painters  as  it 
was  in  the  exliibition  of  other  forms  of  taste. 

The  pleasures  of  watching  artistic  effort  and  the  delights 
of  country  life  were  all  the  more  prized  for  the  comparatively 
short  time  that  could  be  given  to  them  from  the  absorbing 
occupations  of  state.  The  government  was  not  without 
very  considerable  anxiety  in  regard  to  public  matters.  It 
was  with  difficulty  that  work  could  be  found  for  the  large 
number  of  unemployed.  There  w^ere  universal  complaints 
of  the  lowness  of  wages,  while  food  remained  at  a  high 
price.  The  people,  even  at  that  time,  became  more  and 
more  concentrated  in  great  manufacturing  districts,  where 
there  was  much  poverty  and  distress. 

136 


EARLY   MARRIED    LIFE 

The  Court  did  what  it  could  to  encourage  trade.  A  great 
ball  was  given  under  its  patronage  at  Covent  Garden 
Theatre  for  the  relief  of  the  weavers  of  Spitalfields,  and  a 
costume  ball  at  Buckingham  Palace,  of  which  the  Prince 
wrote:  "We  have  organized  it  with  a  view  of  helping 
trade  in  London,  which  is  greatly  depressed.  We  are  to 
represent  Edward  III.  and  Queen  Philippa,  and  the  whole 
Court  is  to  appear  in  the  Court  dress  of  that  period.  The 
Duchess  of  Cambridge  is  to  head  a  procession  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  persons,  intended  to  represent  France, 
Italy,  and  Spain." 

Theological  questions  caused  much  stir  in  the  early 
forties.  Perhaps  it  may  be  objected  here  that  my  readers 
do  not  care  about  theological  questions  at  all,  and  that  they 
had  better  not  be  touched  upon  in  such  a  sketch  as  the 
present.  Still,  we  must  stop  for  a  moment  to  consider  the 
public  relations  of  the  Church  to  the  State. 

In  most  of  the  Protestant  States  of  Germany  the  office 
of  the  King,  or  ruler,  is  intimately  connected  with  the  main- 
tenance of  religion,  and  the  appointments  of  the  spiritual 
leaders  to  Church  preferment  have  to  be  confirmed  by  liim. 
In  Russia  the  head  of  the  State  is  also  the  arch-priest.  The 
Refonnation  was  not  the  first  time  that  freedom  from  the 
dominion  of  Rome  had  been  claimed  in  the  British  Isles  and 
the  independence  of  the  National  Church  asserted,  for  in 
Ireland  and  the  west  of  Scotland,  in  the  ancient  days,  the 
independence  of  a  National  Church  was  asserted  by  the 
observation  of  different  times  for  the  celebration  of  Easter. 

It  w^as,  in  fact,  only  by  gradual  stages  that  the  Papal  ju- 
risdiction was  established  in  Great  Britain.  Students  of 
ecclesiastical  history  will  remember  the  opposition  at  first 
offered  to  St.  Augustine,  when  he  wished  to  impose  the 
Roman  use  upon  the  British  bishops.  It  was  not  until  the 
Middle  Ages  were  well  advanced  that  submission  was 
really  secured. 

The  Culdee  Church  declared  that  it  derived  through  St. 
John,  and  not  through  St.  Peter;  but  it  is  doubtful  whether 
at  the  Reformation  any  one  remembered  such  ancient  his- 

137 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

tory.  They  desired  to  be  free  from  those  abuses  which  in 
their  judgment  had  become  unbearable,  and  they  turned 
to  their  liege  lord  to  insure  them  the  spiritual  freedom  which 
in  their  judgment  had  become  a  necessit3^ 

At  the  union  of  the  crowns  of  England  and  of  Scotland, 
the  feeling  prevailed  that  spiritual  freedom  was  best  as- 
serted by  formally  claiming  protection  from  the  King  for 
the  religion  best  liked  in  each  country.  His  countenance 
means  the  countenance  of  law  for  the  form  of  Church  gov- 
ernment the  people  love.  The  invocation  of  his  power 
is  only  an  expression  of  the  wish  that  the  State  should 
be  sanctified  by  religion,  without  which  the  grace  of  God 
will  not  descend  upon  the  realm. 

The  Queen,  w^hen  living  at  Balmoral,  or  when  visiting  in 
Scotland,  always  attended  Divine  service  perfoniied  in  the 
Established  Church  of  the  country  of  her  Scottish  ances- 
tors, and  she  also  participated  in  the  Communion  with  the 
people  around  her. 

At  Crathie,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  in  the  valley 
in  which  the  Castle  of  Balmoral  is  situated,  there  is  a  church, 
in  the  building  and  architecture  of  which  the  Queen  interest- 
ed herself  greatly.  It  succeeded  an  ugly  fabric,  w^hich,  like 
too  many  structures  in  Scotland,  had  apparently  been 
designed  to  make  the  house  of  God  a  reproach  for  ugliness. 
It  had  seemed  of  old  to  the  Scottish  people,  as  to  many  in 
England,  that  the  best  way  of  showing  their  dislike  to  the 
Roman  Catholic  faith  had  been  not  only  to  destroy  the 
beautiful  buildings  scattered  throughout  the  country,  but 
to  raise  for  themselves  barn-like  squares  of  stone.  They 
seemed  to  think  that  these  would  protect  them  against  error, 
and  that  by  shutting  out  the  beauties  of  nature  around 
them  they  would  be  able  the  more  easily  to  devote  their 
thoughts  to  the  Creator,  who  had  put  beauty  himself  into 
almost  everything  He  made. 

It  was  a  joy  to  her  to  see  that  these  mistakes  were  slowly 
losing  their  influence,  and  that  her  northern  subjects  were 
gradually  becoming  of  the  opinion  that  a  place  of  worship 
should  be  raised  with  more  care  and  reverent  piety  than 

138 


EARLY   MARRIED    LIFE 

they  had  bestowed  upon  their  homesteads  or  their  byres. 
Nor  did  she  fail  to  ask  the  men  who  were  distinguished  by 
their  eloquence  and  conduct  to  come  to  minister  and  preach 
at  Crathie.  It  is  too  early  to  speak  of  those  among  her 
chaplains  who  are  still  in  the  land  of  the  living,  but  I  may 
allude  to  one  who,  always  wise  in  advice,  cheery  and  joyous 
in  manner,  and  most  eloquent  in  the  pulpit,  afforded  her 
society  she  knew  how  to  value.  This  was  Norman  McLeod, 
whose  comparatively  early  death  was  afterwards  a  great 
grief  to  her. 

It  is  more  widely  known  with  what  reverent  respect  and 
affection  she  enjoyed  the  company  of  those  great  dignitaries 
of  the  English  Church  who,  l3y  the  advice  of  her  ministers, 
she  nominated  to  their  sees  or  to  their  deaneries.  She 
spoke  to  the  last  with  the  greatest  delight  of  her  recollec- 
tions of  many  of  those  who  had  gone  before  her.  At  the 
commencement  of  her  life  and  until  middle  age,  on  cere- 
monial occasions,  the  archbishops  used  to  wear  their  wigs, 
as  well  as  the  rochet  with  lawn  sleeves  which  now  distin- 
guishes their  attire,  when  engaged  in  the  public  discharge 
of  their  office. 

Referring  to  this  period.  Sir  Theodore  Martin  has  dwelt 
on  the  care  with  which  the  Prince  regulated  his  conduct, 
and  says :  "  The  Prince  knew,  as  General  Grey  said,  that 
no  shadow  of  a  shade  of  suspicion  should  ever  by  any  jdos- 
sibility  attach  to  his  own  conduct.  It  must  be  absolutely 
free  from  reproach.  It  was  his  duty  to  lay  down  severe 
rules  for  his  own  guidance,  involving  restraint  and  self- 
denial.  He  denied  himself  the  pleasure  of  walking  at  will 
about  London.  Wherever  he  went,  whether  in  a  carriage 
or  on  horseback,  he  was  accompanied  by  his  equerry.  He 
paid  no  visits  in  general  society.  His  visits  were  to  the 
studios  of  the  artists,  to  museums  of  art  or  science,  to  in- 
stitutions for  benevolent  purposes.  Scandal  itself  could 
take  no  liberty  with  his  name.  He  would  frequently  return 
to  luncheon,  the  Queen  says,  at  a  great  pace  on  horseback, 
and  would  always  go  to  the  Queen's  dressing-room,  wdiere 
she  generally  was  at  that  time,  with  that  bright,  loving 

139 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

smile  with  which  he  ever  greeted  her,  telhng  where  he  had 
been,  what  new  buildings  he  had  seen,  what  studios  he 
had  visited.  She  was  anxious  to  prevent  his  being  be- 
sieged, when  in  London,  by  many  urmecessary  people. 
'  His  health  is  so  invaluable,  not  only  to  me,  to  whom  he 
is  more  than  all  in  all,  but  to  this  whole  country,  that  we 
must  do  our  duty  and  manage  that  he  is  not  overwhelmed 
with  people.' " 

The  quantity  of  red  tape  which  hedged  in  all  the  arrange- 
ments with  reference  to  the  duties  of  the  household  officers 
was  one  of  the  worries  of  the  time.  Needless  multiplication 
of  the  details  of  their  duties  led  to  confusion  and  extrava- 
gance. To  make  more  simple  the  whole  organization  of 
the  service  of  the  palace  was  not  a  very  light  task,  but  one 
that  the  Prince  undertook  with  a  thoroughness  and  com- 
mand of  detail  for  which  he  was  remarkable.  When  the 
Queen  was  unable  to  discharge  any  public  or  state  function 
he  took  her  place. 

In  1842  the  Queen  paid  her  first  visit  to  Scotland,  em- 
barking on  August  29th  from  Woolwich,  in  the  Royal 
George  yacht.  She  was  accompanied  by  Prince  Albert, 
with  the  Duchess  of  Norfolk  and  Lord  Morton  in  waiting. 

They  landed  at  Granton  Pier  on  September  1st,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Dalkeith  Palace,  where  thej'  were  entertained 
for  some  days  by  the  Duke  of  Buccleuch.  Two  days  later 
the  Queen  entered  Edinburgh  in  state,  the  procession  being 
a  very  striking  one.  The  castle  was  viewed  in  detail,  and 
the  chief  points  of  interest  in  the  Scottish  capital  were  duly 
visited.  The  Queen  was  greatly  interested  in  the  Scottish 
crown  jewels. 

Leaving  Edinburgh,  the  royal  party  proceeded  to  Dal- 
meny  Park,  where  they  were  entertained  by  the  then  Earl 
of  Rosebery.  On  the  5th  a  levee  was  held  by  the  Queen  at 
Dalkeith  Palace,  when  numerous  loyal  addresses  were  pre- 
sented. 

On  the  following  day  Dupplin  Castle  was  visited,  and 
subsequently  the  Queen  drove  into  Perth.  She  dined  and 
slept  at  Scone  Palace. 

140 


^i 


EARLY    MARRIED   LIFE 

Brief  visits  were  next  paid  to  Dunkeld,  Taymouth  Cas- 
tle, where  the  Prince  had  some  deer-stalking,  Loch  Tay, 
and  Auchmore,  from  which  place  the  Queen  drove  to 
Crieff,  passing  on  the  w^ay  by  Killin,  Glen  Ogle,  Loch 
Earn,  St.  Fillans,  and  Comrie.  Drummond  Castle  was 
reached  in  the  evening,  where  the  royal  party  were  received 
by  Lord  and  Lady  Willoughby  d'Ercsby. 

After  passing  through  Stirling  and  Falkirk  they  re- 
turned to  Dalkeith  Palace,  whence  the  Queen  visited  Ros- 
lin  and  Hawthomden. 

Altogether  a  fortnight  was  thus  spent,  and  on  Septem- 
ber 15th  the  Queen  quitted  her  Scottish  dominions  and 
voyaged  in  the  Trident  back  to  Woolwich. 

In  after  years  many  other  visits  were  paid  to  various 
parts  of  Scotland,  and  some  of  the  Queen's  impressions 
will  be  given  later. 

Princess  Alice  was  bom  in  1843.  "Albert,"  the  Queen 
says,  "has  been,  as  usual,  all  kindness  and  goodness. 
Our  little  baby  is  to  be  called  Alice,  an  old  English  name, 
and  the  other  names  are  to  be  Maud,  another  old  English 
name  (the  same  as  Matilda),  and  Mary,  as  she  was  bom 
on  Aunt  Gloucester's  birthday.  Her  sponsors  are  to  be 
the  King  of  Hanover,  Ernest  [Duke  of  Coburg],  poor  Prin- 
cess Sophia  Matilda,  and  Feodore." 

"The  ceremony  went  off  very  brilliantly,"  wrote  the 
Queen  on  June  6th,  "and  little  Alice  behaved  extremely 
well."  X 

In  1843  occurred  what  is  called  in  Scotland  "  The  Dis- 
ruption."    One  might  imagine  that  expression  to  refer  to  \ 
the  renewed  activity  of  some  ancient  volcano,  causing    \ 
some  well-known  resort  to  split  with  fatal  chasms.     But     | 
the  word  recalls  a  split  in  the  National  Established  Pres-     \ 
byterian  Church,  on  what  was  called  "the  question  of  in-      \ 
trusion."     Here,  again,  one  must  explain  that  intrusion 
meant  that  the  patron  of  a  living  should  no  longer  exer- 
cise his  ancient  right  of  presentation  of  a  minister  to  a 
congregation.     They  desired  to  choose  for  themselves; 
or,  rather,  through  a  delegated  committee.     Some  patrons 

141 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

had  a  great  number  of  livings  to  which  they  had  the  right 
of  presentation.  For  instance,  the  Duke  of  Argyll  had 
thirty- four.  The  right  was  seldom  exercised  without 
taking  the  sense  of  the  congregation.  There  had  during 
the  century  been  only  one  case  where  the  congregation  had 
selected  a  man  the  Duke  knew  to  be  unfit,  and  he  had  there- 
fore vetoed  his  appointment.  But  there  were  instances 
in  which  the  patronage  exercised  by  the  lay  patron  had  been 
less  tactfully  used. 

The  people  liked  to  have  a  pulpit  competition  among 
aspiring  preachers,  and  to  give  the  palm  themselves  to  the 
one  who  "made  a  graaand  appeeerance. "  A  "leet"  (an 
old  Saxon  word  meaning,  in  this  case,  a  few  sample  speci- 
mens of  young  clergy)  came  and  preached,  and,  according 
to  their  eloquence  and  the  good  report  of  them,  one  was 
chosen.  This  had  been  the  practical  habit  in  most  cases, 
but  not  in  all ;  and,  as  one  case  is  enough  to  form  a  "  test 
case,"  it  was  easy  to  have  the  delights  of  litigation,  plus 
the  full  use  of  Old  Testament  language  of  a  doubtful  kind, 
in  discussing  a  test  case  that  went  in  favor  of  the  ancient 
right.  The  Established  Church  Assembly  had  them- 
selves begun  the  fight  ten  years  before,  when  they  said 
that  the  congregation  ought  to  have  a  veto  against  any 
clergyman  presented.  In  short,  the  Assembly  began  the 
course  which  logically  must  lead  to  the  choice  of  ministers 
by  the  people,  for  these  could  go  on  vetoing  any  nmnber 
of  persons,  until  presentation  should  become  a  farce.  When 
in  1844  the  matter  had  ripened  by  more  "cases,"  a  great 
number  of  the  Assembly,  as  the  governing  body  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  is  called,  resolved  to  secede.  They 
hated  to  do  what  must  break  up  the  Church  of  their  fa- 
thers, but  they  could  not  hesitate.  "The  Disruption" 
took  place,  and  the  excitement  throughout  Scotland  was 
tremendous. 

So  inflamed  were  party  passions,  that  I  remember  hear- 
ing a  minister,  beloved  in  his  parish,  and  one  of  the  most 
excellent  of  men,  recount  how,  when  he  had  determined  to 
remain  in   "the  establishment,"   his   own  parishioners, 

142 


EARLY   MARRIED    LIFE 

most  of  whom  he  had  known  all  his  days,  turned  from  him 
as  he  walked  to  church,  or  spat  at  him,  and  hissed  him  I 
If  it  required  moral  courage  to  leave  the  fold,  it  required, 
in  many  instances,  as  much  to  remain.  Many  of  the  most 
eloquent  of  the  ministers  joined  the  new  "Free  Church." 
Guthrie,  whose  grand  voice,  great  pathos,  and  fine  oratory 
in  the  pulpit,  rang  in  the  ears  of  his  Edinburgh  congrega- 
tion until  very  lately,  was  young  among  them.  Chalmers 
was  their  most  able  and  zealous  leader,  a  man  whom  all 
must  admire,  and  very  many  loved. 

There  were  riots  in  Ross-shire  when  new  clergy  were 
put  into  the  churches  vacated  by  the  secessionists;  but, 
considering  the  excitement  in  the  country,  the  public 
peace  was  well  kept.  The  more  extreme  form  of  Calvin- 
istic  practice  still  prevails  in  the  districts  which  were  then 
disorderly.  Elsewhere  a  more  reasonable  and  joyous 
spirit  has  spread  among  the  people.  My  grandfather, 
when  an  officer  quartered  at  Edinburgh,  was  one  Sunday 
afternoon  leaning  out  of  his  barrack  window  and  whistling 
a  tune.  A  woman,  passing  in  the  street  below,  looked  up 
at  him,  as  he  was  thus  innocently  enjoying  himself,  and 
startled  him  by  crying  out,  in  a  tone  of  agonized  horror, 
"Ah,  you  reprobate!"  The  woman  was  no  maniac,  but 
an  ordinary  specimen  of  a  large  class  who,  until  lately, 
have  thought  that  anything  but  a  morose  and  melancholy 
idleness  was  an  improper  attitude  for  the  Lord's  Day.  The 
healthy  exercise  of  muscle  and  lung,  the  enjoyment  of 
boating,  or  walking  in  the  country — anything,  in  short, 
which  made  man  or  woman  rejoice  in  the  gifts  their  God 
had  given,  was  condemned.  To  shut  one's  self  up  in  the 
house  was  the  only  occupation  for  a  "  decent  body  " ;  and 
to  look,  even  to  the  members  of  the  family,  as  though  one 
had  lost  the  nearest  and  dearest,  was  the  tribute  supposed 
to  be  demanded  by  a  gracious  God.  This  insanity  still 
most  injuriously  affects  some  parts  of  Scotland;  but  a 
cleanlier,  healthier,  and  happier  existence  is  now  the  rule 
on  Sunday,  while  the  work  imposed  by  Continental  license 
on  man  and  beast  is  happily  avoided. 

143 


/! 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

In  one  country  of  the  European  Continent  the  clergy  had 
been  a  chief  cause  of  the  downfall  of  a  king.  The  Church 
in  France  could  have  no  part  in  the  Revolution.  The 
excesses  of  that  time,  the  anarchy  and  denial  of  God,  pro- 
duced in  them  a  horror  that  caused  their  policy  to  favor  a 
more  absolute  form  of  government  than  was  possible  unless 
the  sovereign  had  the  "prestige"  of  great  military  suc- 
cesses. This  Charles  X.  had  not.  "Legitimist"  in  feeling 
— that  is,  believing  in  his  divine  right  of  kingship — he  at- 
tempted, unwisely,  to  bring  back  too  soon  the  methods  with- 
out the  abuses  of  the  old  monarchical  rule,  interrupted 
by  the  Revolution  and  the  Empire  of  the  great  Napoleon. 
He  failed,  and,  happily  escaping  to  England  without  being 
injured,  he  was  hospitably  received,  and  was  given  the 
rooms  at  Holyrood  Palace  which  were  afterwards  occupied 
by  the  Queen  during  her  visits  to  Edinburgh.  They  were 
the  set  belonging  to  the  hereditary  Master  of  the  House- 
hold, the  Duke  of  Argyll,  whose  family  succeeded  the 
Stewart  family  in  the  office  when  the  last  became  sovereign. 
But  while  the  King  of  France  was  being  lodged  in  the  old 
palace  of  his  Stewart  relatives  in  Scotland,  a  proceeding 
took  place,  under  the  cognizance  of  the  great  powers,  which 
must  have  seemed  to  him  as  subversive  of  all  proper  au- 
thority as  the  Revolution  itself.  For  one  of  the  Bourbons, 
the  son  of  that  "Philippe  Egalite"  who  had  been  half  a 
Revolutionist,  by  name  Louis  Philippe,  was  invited  to 
occupy  the  throne,  and  accepted  the  mission.  He  had, 
during  his  previous  wanderings,  been  often  in  the  greatest 
straits  for  money.  He  had  been  a  school  -  master ;  he 
had  had  to  pinch  and  starve  to  make  the  few  francs  he 
gained  support  his  somewhat  unwieldy  body.  Prince 
Albert  was  related,  though  distantly,  to  the  Bourbons. 
/  In  1843  peace  had  been  procured,  and  the  King  of  the 
/French,  as  he  was  styled,  thought  that  a  \dsit  from  Queen 
I  Victoria  would  be  at  once  pleasant  and  serviceable  to  him- 
self. So  two  of  his  agreeable  sons  were  commissioned  to 
I  convey  the  invitation  to  Windsor,  with  the  result  that  she 
I  paid  a  short  visit  to  the  King  at  the  Chateau  d'Eu. 

144 


EARLY    MARRIED   LIFE 

The  Queen  and  Prince  embarked  at  Southampton,  and, 
after  visiting  one  or  two  English  ports — at  one  of  which  it 
is  recorded  that  the  Mayor,  who  was  about  to  present  an 
address,  managed  to  tumble  into  the  water,  out  of  which 
he  was  fished  too  wet  "  to  present  either  himself  or  the  ad- 
dress"— they  found,  on  crossing  the  Channel,  that  the 
French  King  had  come  off  in  his  barge  to  meet  them. 

The  Queen  wrote :  "I  felt,  as  it  came  nearer  and  nearer, 
more  and  more  agitated.  At  length  it  came  close.  It 
contained  the  King,  Aumale,  Montpensier,  Augustus  [a 
first  cousin  of  the  Queen,  who  had  married  Princess  Cle- 
mentine of  Orleans],  M.  Guizot,  [the  Prime  Minister  of 
France],  Lord  Cowley,  and  various  officers  and  ministers. 
The  good,  kind  King  was  standing  on  the  boat,  and  so 
impatient  to  get  out  that  it  was  very  difficult  to  prevent 
him,  and  to  get  him  to  wait  till  the  boat  was  close  enough. 
He  came  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  embraced  me  warmly. 
The  King  expressed  again  and  again  how  delighted  he 
was  to  see  me.  His  barge  is  a  very  fine  one,  with  many 
oars,  and  the  men  were  in  white,  with  red  sashes,  and  red 
ribbons  round  their  hats. 

"  The  landing  was  a  fine  sight,  which  the  beauty  of  the 
evening  and  the  setting  sun  enhanced.  Crowds  of  people, 
all  so  different  from  ours,  numbers  of  troops,  also  different 
from  our  troops,  the  whole  Court,  and  all  the  authorities, 
were  assembled  on  the  shore.  The  King  led  me  up  a  some- 
what steepish  staircase,  where  the  Queen  received  me  with 
the  kindest  welcome,  accompanied  by  dearest  Louise  [Queen 
of  the  Belgians],  Helene  [the  Duchess  of  Orleans],  in  deep 
mourning,  Frangoise  [Princess  of  Joinville],  and  Madame 
Adelaide.  All  this — the  cheering  of  the  people  and  of  the 
troops  crying,  'Vive  la  Reine!  Vive  le  Roi!' — well-nigh 
overcame  me.  The  King  repeated  again  and  again  to  me 
how  happy  he  was  at  the  visit,  and  how  attached  he  was 
to  my  father  and  to  England." 

The  Queen  said  she  was  "  delighted  at  being  in  the  midst 
of  this  admirable  and  truly  amiable  family,"  where,  she 
added,  "  we  are  quite  at  home,  as  if  we  were  one  of  them. 

145 


VICTORIA  R.  1.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

On  Sunday,"  she  says,  "I  rose  at  half-past  seven.  I  felt 
as  though  it  were  a  dream  that  I  was  at  Eu,  and  that  my 
favorite  air-castle  for  so  many  years  was  at  length  realized. 
But  it  is  no  dream,  it  is  a  pleasant  reality.  The  distant 
ringing  of  the  church  bells,  much  prettier  than  ours,  is  the 
only  thing  to  remind  me  of  Sunday,  for  the  mill  is  going, 
and  the  people  are  sweeping  and  working  in  the  garden. 
The  chateau  is  very  pretty.  They  are  all  so  kind  and  so 
delightful,  so  united,  that  it  does  one's  heart  good  to  see 
this  family.  At  half-past  ten  the  King  and  Queen  and  all 
of  them  took  us  to  breakfast.  The  King  has  such  spirits, 
and  is  full  of  anecdote.  After  breakfast  we  went  up-stairs 
into  the  Galerie  des  Guises.  At  half -past  two  the  King 
and  Queen  came  to  fetch  us,  and  took  us  over  the  greater 
part  of  the  chateau.  The  number  of  family  pictures  is 
quite  enormous.  The  little  chapel  is  beautiful,  and  full 
of  painted  windows  and  statues  of  saints.  It  is  the  first 
Roman  Catholic  chapel  I  have  seen.  The  rooms  of  the 
Queen,  including  a  little  cabinet  de  toilette,  are  charming. 

"  The  people  are  very  respectable  looking  and  very  civil, 
crying,  'Vive  la  Reine  dAngleterre.'  The  King  is  so 
pleased.  The  caps  of  the  women  are  very  picturesque, 
and  they  wear  also  colored  handkerchiefs  and  aprons 
which  look  very  pretty. 

"  Monday,  September  4th.  —  Up  at  half  -  past  seven ; 
breakfasted  at  eight  o'clock.  Good  news  from  the  children. 
The  band  of  the  Light  Infantry,  24th  Regiment,  played 
under  my  window  extremely  well;  they  are  fifty-five  in 
number.  At  half -past  ten  the  King  and  family  came 
to  fetch  us  to  their  delightfully  cheerful  breakfast.  I 
feel  so  gay  and  happy  with  these  dear  people.  Later  we 
saw  M.  Guizot,  who  came  to  express  his  great  joy  at  our 
visit.  It  seems  to  have  done  the  greatest  good,  and  to 
have  caused  the  greatest  satisfaction  to  the  French.  I 
hear  that  I  should  have  been  most  kindly  received  at  Paris 
even.  The  French  naval  officers  give  this  evening  a  ban- 
quet on  board  the  Phiton  to  our  naval  officers,  and  I  trust 
that  the  hatred  for  the  '  perfidious  English '  will  cease. 

146 


THE   QUEEN   IN    1S42 


EARLY   MARRIED    LIFE 

"  During  an  excursion  to  an  open-air  f^te  I  sat  between 
the  King  and  the  Queen.  The  King's  HveHness  and  vi- 
vacity, and  Httle  impatiences,  are  my  dehght  and  amuse- 
ment. We  returned  at  a  quarter  to  six.  I  feel  very  gay 
and  amused.  At  dinner  the  King  told  me  that  the  French 
officers  had  a  dinner  at  which  my  health  had  been  drunk 
with  great  enthusiasm,  '  which  isn't  so  bad  on  the  part  of 
French  soldiers,'  he  added;  and  he  repeated  again  and 
again  his  wish  to  become  more  closely  allied  with  the  Eng- 
lish, which  would  be  the  sure  means  of  preventing  war 
in  Europe,  and  that  love  for  the  English  was  in  his  blood. 

"After  dinner  there  was  very  fine  music  by  the  artists 
of  the  Conservatoire.  They  played  beautifully,  particu- 
larly Beethoven's  symphonies. 

"  Tuesday,  September  5th. — Albert  got  up  at  half-past 
six  in  order  to  go  and  see  the  carabineers  with  Aumale. 
After  breakfast,  and  before  we  went  to  our  rooms,  the  King 
took  us  down-stairs,  where  he  gave  us  two  splendid  pieces 
of  Gobelins,  which  have  been  thirty  years  in  hand  [these 
pieces  of  tapestry  the  Queen  ever  afterwards  kept  at  Wind- 
sor, in  the  oak  dining-room,  where  she  usually  dined],  and 
a  beautiful  box  of  Sevres  china.  The  dear,  excellent 
Queen  so  kindly  said  that  she  had  always  had  un  sentiment 
niaternel  pour  mot,  but  that  this  had  increased  since  she 
knew  me. 

"Wednesday,  September  6th. — I  was  up  before  eight 
o'clock.  The  band  again  played  under  my  window,  as  yes- 
terday. At  breakfast  I  sat  between  the  King  and  Aumale. 
We  were  much  amused  at  the  King's  ordering,  at  this  late 
hour,  everything  to  be  ready  for  a  dejeuner  in  the  forest. 
We  went  off  with  a  whole  company  in  char-a-hancs  at  two 
o'clock,  Albert  sitting  in  front  wdth  the  King,  and  I  with 
the  Queen,  for  whom  I  feel  a  filial  affection.  We  arrived  at 
Saint-Catherine.  After  walking  about  for  some  little  time 
in  the  garden,  we  sat  down  to  a  dejeuner  under  the  trees. 
It  was  so  pretty,  so  merry.  We  came  home,  the  evening 
lovely,  at  half-past  six.  After  dinner  we  went  into  the 
Galerie,  which  is  fitted  as  a  little  theatre.     A  stage  and  or- 

147 


VICTORIA  R.  1.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

chestra  was  perfectly  arranged.  We  were  all  seated  in 
rows  of  chairs  one  above  the  other.  The  first  piece  was 
'Le  ChMeau  de  ma  Niece/  the  second  'L'Humoriste/  in 
which  Arnal  sent  us  into  fits  of  laughter. 

"  Thursday. — Quarter  to  six  I  got  up,  heavy-hearted  at 
the  thought  that  we  must  leave  this  dear  family.  We  em- 
barked in  the  King's  fine  barge;  the  King  and  Queen  and 
all  the  princesses  and  the  Admiral  were  with  us.  The 
princesses  and  suite  and  King's  gentlemen  and  ministers 
all  followed  us  on  board.  We  were  obliged  to  take  leave. 
The  dear  Queen  said  yesterday,  in  speaking  of  the  chil- 
dren, '  I  recommend  them  to  you,  madame,  when  we  shall 
be  no  longer  here,  and  also  to  Prince  Albert.  Maj'^  you 
protect  them;  they  are  heartfelt  friends.' 

"We  stood  on  the  side  of  the  paddle-box  and  waited  to 
see  them  pass  by  in  a  small  steamer.  The  King  waved 
his  hand,  and  called  out  'Adieu!'  We  set  off  before  nine 
o  clock.  At  half  -  past  three  we  got  into  the  barge  off 
Brighton  with  Joinville,  the  ladies,  and  Lord  Aberdeen. 
When  we  arrived  at  the  Pavilion,  we  took  Joinville  up- 
stairs with  us,  and  he  was  very  much  struck  with  the 
strangeness  of  the  building." 

The  old  royal  yachts,  the  Fairy  and  the  Victoria 
and  Albert,  were  very  small  vessels  as  compared  with 
the  large  steamers  that  are  no^v  so  often  used,  and 
these  again  suffer  in  comparison  with  such  splendid 
vessels  as  the  HohenzoUern,  belonging  to  his  Majesty 
the  German  Emperor,  where  sixty  can  easily  dine  in 
the  saloon.  But  the  most  antique-looking  of  all  was 
one  called  the  Royal  George  yacht,  which  was  built  in 
imitation  of  a  full-rigged  frigate.  It  was  dangerously 
small  for  any  heavy  sea. 

'  The  Queen  and  Prince  Albert  also  paid  a  visit  to  the 
King  of  the  Belgians,  and  their  reception  left  nothing  to  be 
desired.  A  State  visit  to  Cambridge  made  the  Queen  ac- 
quainted, for  the  first  time,  with  the  marvels  of  creation 
collected  in  the  museum  in  the  shape  of  gigantic  animals 
preserved  to  us  in  the  rocks. 

148 


EARLY    MARRIED    LIFE 

Sedgwick  says:  "The  Queen  was  quite  happy,  and 
mightily  taken  with  one  or  two  of  my  monsters,  especially 
with  the  plesiosaurus  and  gigantic  stag.  The  subject  was 
new  to  her,  but  the  Prince  evidently  had  a  good  general 
knowledge  of  the  old  world,  and  the  Queen  liked  to  hear  her 
husband  talk  about  a  novel  subject  with  so  much  knowledge 
and  spirit.  A  fine  head  of  an  ichthyosaurus  had  arrived, 
and  I  was  unpacking  it.  The  Queen  asked  what  it  was. 
I  told  her  as  plainly  as  I  could.  She  then  asked  whence  it 
came,  and  I  said  I  did  not  know  the  exact  place,  but  I  be- 
lieved it  came  as  a  delegate  from  the  monsters  of  the  lower 
world  to  greet  her  arrival  at  the  University." 

In  London  they  were  occupied  in  the  building  of  a  new 
chapel  at  Buckingham  Palace,  and  in  giving  constant  in- 
terviews, audiences,  and  dinners  to  distinguished  men  at 
home  and  to  foreign  guests  from  abroad. 

The  Duke  of  Sussex,  the  Queen's  oldest  friend  among 
her  relations,  died  just  as  Princess  Alice  was  born.  He  had 
married  Lady  Augusta  Murray,  when  only  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  at  Rome  in  1793.  This  marriage  was  con- 
trary to  the  provisions  of  the  Royal  Marriage  Act  of  1 2th 
George  III.,  which  enacted  that  no  descendant  of  George 
II.,  other  than  the  issue  of  princes  married  into  foreign 
countries,  was  capable  of  contracting  matrimony  without 
the  previous  consent  of  the  King,  signified  under  the 
Great  Seal ;  but,  on  condition  that  his  union  should  not  be 
disturbed,  the  Prince  proposed  to  resign  whatever  claims 
he  might  possess  as  a  member  of  the  royal  family. 

No  sooner,  however,  was  the  alliance  publicly  known 
than  the  matter  was  taken  up  by  government,  proceedings 
were  instituted  in  the  Ecclesiastical  Courts,  and  the  mar- 
riage pronounced  null  and  void.  The  Duke  was  made  a 
peer  when  twenty-nine  years  of  age,  and  given  soon  after- 
wards ^21,000  a  year.  He  declared  in  favor  of  a  reform  in 
Parliament,  of  repeal  of  the  penal  laws  against  Roman 
Catholics,  the  diminution  of  public  expenditure,  and  new 
principles  of  freedom  in  trade.  His  speeches  ujwn  the 
regency  question  in  1810-II  excited  much  attention. 

149 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

On  the  question  of  repealing  the  Tests  and  Corporation 
Acts  in  1828,  the  Duke  displayed  his  liberal  sentiments, 
demanding  liberty  of  conscience.  Strongly  in  favor  of 
Parliamentary  reform,  he  said:  "I  always  was  a  re- 
former, I  am  a  reformer,  and  I  always  shall  be  a  reformer 
until  this  bill,  or  some  other  measure  of  equal  efficiency, 
be  passed."  He  was  constantly  presiding  at  dinners  of 
public  charities,  and  was  a  very  good  after-dinner  speaker. 

Early  in  1844  the  Prince  Consort's  father  died,  and  the 
Prince  had  to  leave  the  Queen  for  the  first  time,  and  felt 
the  separation  greatly.  He  returned  in  April.  "  I  arrived 
at  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  at  Windsor,"  he  savs.   "  Great 

joyi' 

They  received  the  Emperor  Nicholas  of  Russia  at  Wind- 
sor. "A  great  event,  and  a  great  compliment,  his  visit 
certainly  is,"  the  Queen  wrote.  "The  people  here  are  ex- 
tremely flattered  at  it.  He  is  certainly  a  very  striking  man, 
still  very  handsome.  His  profile  is  beautiful,  and  his  man- 
ners most  dignified  and  graceful;  extremely  civil.  The  ex- 
pression of  the  eyes  is  severe,  and  unlike  anything  I  ever 
saw  before.  He  gives  Albert  and  myself  the  impression 
of  a  man  who  is  not  happy,  and  on  whom  the  burden  of 
his  immense  power  and  position  weighs  heavily  and  pain- 
fully. He  seldom  smiles;  and  when  he  does,  the  expres- 
sion is  not  a  happy  one.  He  is  very  easy  to  get  on  with. 
Both  the  Emperor  and  the  King  of  Saxony  are  quite  en- 
chanted with  Windsor.  The  Emperor  said,  very  politely, 
'  It  is  worthy  of  you,  madam. '  The  Emperor  praised  my 
Albert  very  much,  saying,  '  It  is  impossible  to  see  a  better- 
looking  man.  He  has  so  noble  and  so  good  an  air.'  He 
amused  the  King  of  Saxony  and  me  by  saying  he  was  so 
embarrassed  when  people  were  presented  to  him,  as  he  felt 
so  awkward  in  a  frock-coat,  which  he  is  certainly  not  ac- 
customed to  wear.  Military  uniform  had  become  so 
habitual  to  him,  and  without  it  he  said  he  felt  as  if  one  had 
skinned  him.  The  review  on  June  5th  was  really  very  in- 
teresting, and  our  reception,  as  well  as  that  of  the  Emperor, 
most  enthusiastic.     The  Emperor  asked  mj^  leave  to  ride 

150 


THE    QUEEN'    IN    iS4j 


EARLY   MARRIED    LIFE 

down  the  line.     When  he  came  back  he  thanked  me  warmly 
for  having  allowed  him  to  see  his  '  old  comrades. ' 

"  On  the  6th  we  went  with  the  Emperor  and  King  to  the 
races,  and  I  never  saw  such  a  crowd.  Here  again  the  re- 
ception was  most  brilliant.  Every  evening  a  large  din- 
ner in  the  Waterloo  Room,  on  the  last  two  evenings  in 
uniform,  as  the  Emperor  disliked  so  being  in  evening 
dress,  and  was  quite  embarrassed  in  it. 

"On  the  7th  we  brought  him  and  the  King  back  here, 
and  in  the  evening  had  a  party  of  about  two  hundred  and 
sixty.  On  his  return  from  the  fete  at  Chiswick,  on  the 
morning  of  the  8th,  the  Emperor  talked  of  it  at  dinner  with 
delight ;  how  brilliant  it  had  been,  of  the  great  numbers  of 
beautiful  women  present.  He  had  seen  Lord  Melbourne 
there,  and  when  I  spoke  of  Lord  Melbourne,  and  of  the 
respect  he  entertained  for  the  Emperor,  he  replied  by  ex- 
pressing his  great  esteem  for  Lord  Melbourne,  adding, '  All 
who  serve  your  Majesty  well  are  dear  to  me. '  As  he  led 
me  from  the  dining-room,  he  said,  'It  is  unfortunately 
the  last  evening  that  I  can  enjoy  the  kindness  of  your 
Majesty,  but  the  recollection  will  be  eternally  graven  on 
my  heart.  I  shall  probably  not  see  you  again ' ;  to  which 
I  replied  he  could  easily  come  here  again.  He  said,  '  You 
do  not  know  how  difficult  it  is  for  us  to  do  such  things, 
but  I  commend  my  children  to  you.'     He  said  this  sadly. 

"  In  the  evening  of  the  8th  we  went  to  the  opera,  not  in 
State,  but  they  recognized  us.  We  were  most  brilliantly 
received.  I  had  to  force  the  Emperor  forward,  as  he  never 
would  come  forward  when  I  was  there,  and  I  was  obliged 
to  take  him  by  the  hand  and  make  him  appear.  It  was 
impossible  to  be  more  respectful  than  he  was  towards  me. 
On  Sunday  afternoon  he  left  us.  Albert  accompanied  him 
to  Woolwich.  He  was  much  affected  at  going,  and  really 
unaffectedly  touched  at  his  reception  and  stay,  the  sim- 
plicity and  quietness  of  which  told  upon  his  love  of  do- 
mestic life,  which  is  very  great.  On  the  morning  he  was 
to  leave  he  expressed  his  gratitude  to  us  in  very  warm 
terms,  and  said,  *  I  leave  with  sentiments  of  the  most  pro- 

151 


VICTORIA' R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

found  devotion  to  your  Majesty,  and  to  him '  (taking 
Albert's  hand)  'who  has  been  hke  a  brother  to  me,'  At 
a  httle  before  five  o'clock  we  went  down  to  wait  in  the 
small  drawing-room  with  the  children.  Not  long  after, 
the  Emperor  came  in  and  spoke  to  them,  and  then,  with 
a  sigh  and  with  much  emotion,  which  took  all  the  harsh- 
ness of  his  countenance  away,  he  said,  'I  take  my  de- 
parture from  here,  madam,  with  a  full  heart.  I  am  touch- 
ed by  your  kindnesses  to  me.  You  may  be  sure,  madam, 
that  you  may  count  upon  me  at  all  times  as  your  most 
devoted  servant.  May  God  bless  you.'  And  again  he 
kissed  my  hand  and  pressed  it,  and  I  kissed  him  [it  is  the 
custom  between  sovereigns  to  salute  each  other  at  the 
commencement  and  conclusion  of  such  a  State  visit].  He 
kissed  the  children  most  affectionately,  saying,  '  May  God 
bless  them  for  your  happiness.' 

"He  wanted  me  not  to  go  farther  with  him,  saying, 
'  I  beseech  you,  do  not  accompany  me  farther ' ;  but,  of 
course,  I  would  not  consent,  and  took  his  arm  to  go  to  the 
hall.  At  the  top  of  a  few  steps  leading  to  the  lower  hall, 
he  again  took  most  kindly  leave.  When  I  saw  him  at  the 
door  I  went  down  the  steps,  and,  from  the  carriage,  he 
begged  I  would  not  stand  there ;  but  I  did,  and  saw  him 
drive  off  with  Albert  for  Woolwich." 

"I  will  now,"  the  Queen  wrote  to  King  Leopold,  "give 
you  my  opinions  and  feelings  on  the  subject.  I  was  ex- 
tremely against  the  visit,  fearing  the  constraint  and  bus- 
tle, and  even,  at  first,  I  did  not  feel  at  all  to  like  it ;  but  by 
living  in  the  same  house  together,  quietly  and  unrestrain- 
edly (and  this  Albert,  with  great  truth,  says  is  the  great 
advantage  of  these  visits,  for  I  not  only  see  these  great 
people,  but  know  them),  I  got  to  know  the  Emperor,  and 
he  to  know  me. 

"  There  is  much  about  him  which  I  cannot  help  liking, 
and  I  think  his  character  is  one  which  should  be  under- 
stood and  looked  upon  for  once  as  it  is.  He  is  stern  and 
severe,  with  strict  principles  of  duty,  which  nothing  on 
earth  will  make  him  change.     Very  clever  I  do  not  think 

152 


EARLY   MARRIED    LIFE 

him,  and  his  mind  is  not  a  cultivated  one.  His  educa- 
tion has  been  neglected;  politics  and  military  concerns 
are  the  only  things  he  takes  great  interest  in.  The  arts, 
and  all  the  softer  occupations,  he  does  not  care  for.  But 
he  is  sincere,  I  am  certain — sincere  even  in  his  most  des- 
potic acts,  from  a  sense  that  it  is  the  only  way  to  govern. 
He  is  not,  I  am  sure,  aware  of  the  dreadful  cases  of  indi- 
vidual misery  which  he  so  often  causes,  for  I  can  see,  by 
various  instances,  that  he  is  kept  in  much  ignorance  of 
many  things  which  his  people  carry  out  in  most  corrupt 
ways,  while  he  thinks  he  is  extremely  just.  He  thinks  of 
general  measures,  but  does  not  look  into  details,  and  I  am 
sure  much  never  reaches  his  ears.  As  you  observe,  how 
can  it?  He  asked  for  nothing  whatever,  and  merely  ex- 
pressed his  great  anxiety  to  be  on  the  best  of  terms  with 
us,  but  not  to  the  exclusion  of  others;  only  let  things  re- 
main as  they  are." 

All  were  most  anxious  to  do  the  Emperor  honor,  and 
the  Duke  of  Wellington,  at  the  review,  finding  that  the 
people  began  cheering  himself  instead  of  reserving  their 
applause  for  their  guest,  rode  along  the  front  of  the  crowd, 
saying  to  them  most  earnestly,  "Please  do  not  cheer  for 
me;  cheer  for  the  Emperor."  When  his  Majesty  left  Eng- 
land in  the  little  Black  Eagle  steamer,  one  of  the  sailors 
was  seen  to  be  conveying  a  large  bundle  of  straw  on  board. 
This  turned  out  to  be  a  quantity  of  fresh  litter,  on  which  it 
was  said  the  Emperor  preferred  to  sleep,  leaving  his  fol- 
lowers to  use  the  beds. 


CHAPTER  V 
EVENTS    OF   THE   LATER   FORTIES 

It  is  curious  that  a  war  of  the  last  year  of  the  century 
^(if  1900  can  be  called  the  last)  began  much  as  the  war 
Idid  in  1845  with  the  Sikhs.     In  both  cases  the  British  be- 
[lieved  negotiations  to  be  possibly  fruitful,  and  hoping 
against  hope  for  peace,  did  not  bring  sufficient  troops  on 
to  the  ground  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  obtaining  an^ 
initial  advantage.     The  annexation  of  the  country  of  the  / 
Sikhs,  called  the  Punjaub,  was  the  final  result  of  the  bat-  / 
ties  that  began  with  Moodkee  and  Ferozeshah,  and  fin-^ 
ished  with  Aliwal  and  Sobraon,  and  Chillianwallah  and 
Goojerat,  a  series  of  tremendous  fights,  which  had  best  be 
considered  together,  for  the  result  has  been  that  the  whole 
of  northwestern  India,  up  to  the  line  of  the  mountain  bar- 
riers, has  been  brought  under  British  rule.     The  regions  \ 
annexed  are  the  homes  of  the  most  warlike  of  the  Indian  \ 
races,  and  these  peoples  have,  ever  since  their  brave  re-    j 
sistance  ceased,  become  the  most  trusted  and  the  most    j 
trustworthy  among  the  gallant  defenders  of  British  power   { 
in  the  East.     The  wars  that  were  waged  to  such  good    j 
effect   began   with   the   encouragement   the   British   dis-    1 
asters  at  Cabul  gave  to  the  Ameers  of  Scinde,  and  they   / 
were  brought  to  reason  by  the  famous  Sir  Charles  Napier.    / 
They  had  an  army  of  Beloochees,  and  lost  all  their  artil-  / 
lery  at  Meeanee.     The  Governor-General,  Lord  Ellenbor-j 
ough,  was  thought  at  home  to  have  been  harsh,  and  the] 
East  India  Company  recalled  him,  and  sent  out  Sir  Henry 
Hardinge. 

In  1845  a  more  formidable  host  than  that  of  the  Beloo- 
chees had  to  be  met.     It  was  not  believed  that  they  in- 

154 


EVENTS   OF    THE    LATER    FORTIES 

tended  war.  The  River  Sutlej  was  the  boundary  between 
them  and  us.  Inspired,  probably,  by  the  counsels  of 
French  officers  who  directed  their  artillery,  they  crossed 
into  British  territory.  Sir  Hugh  Gough  at  once  collect- 
ed troops,  and  fought  the  battle  of  Moodkee.  The  gen- 
eral reported :  "  The  country  is  a  dead  flat.  The  enemy 
screened  their  infantry  and  artillery  behind  some  jungle 
and  undulations  of  the  ground.  They  opened  a  very  se- 
vere cannonade  on  our  twelve  battalions.  Our  one  bat- 
tery of  horse  artillery  and  two  light  field  batteries  replied. 
Our  cavalry  made  a  flank  movement,  turned  the  left  of 
the  Sikh  army,  and,  sweeping  along  the  whole  rear  of  its 
infantry  and  guns,  silenced  the  artillery  and  put  the  horse- 
men to  flight.  The  right  of  the  enemy  was  also  threat- 
ened, while  the  cannonade  was  resumed.  The  infantry 
advanced,  but  the  opposition  was  such  as  might  have  been 
expected  from  troops  who  had  everything  at  stake,  and 
who  had  long  vaunted  of  being  irresistible.  The  line  far 
outflanked  ours,  yet  their  whole  force  was  driven  from  po- 
sition to  position  with  great  slaughter  and  the  loss  of  sev- 
enteen pieces  of  artillery,  our  infantry  using  that  never- 
failing  weapon — the  bayonet.  The  conflict  was  main- 
tained during  an  hour  and  a  half  of  dim  starlight. "  But 
the  Sikhs  only  retired  to  Ferozeshah,  where,  in  an  in 
trenched  camp,  they  numbered  at  least  fifty  thousand 
men,  with  one  hundred  and  eight  guns.  Their  camp  was 
a  mile  in  length  and  half  a  mile  in  breadth.  Near  one 
side  was  the  river.  The  British  attacked  from  the  side  of 
the  open  country.  Low  jungle  covered  the  plain.  The 
British  guns  were  placed  in  the  centre  of  the  attacking 
lines.  There  were  sixty-nine  guns  and  sixteen  thousand 
seven  hundred  men.  A  heavy  fire  was  opened  by  the 
Sikhs.  In  the  face  of  a  storm  of  shot  and  shell  our  in- 
fantry carried  the  formidable  intrenchments ;  but  the 
Sikhs,  rallying,  poured  in  so  fearful  a  fire  of  small-arms 
that  night  fell  when  the  conflict  was  ever3'where  still  rag- 
ing. The  enemy,  in  spite  of  renewed  efforts  on  our  part, 
made  with  a  fresh  division,  still  held  a  portion  of  the  great 

155 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

quadrangle,  and  our  men  had  to  bivouac  on  the  part  they 
had  gained,  greatly  exhausted  and  suffering  much  from 
thirst.  The  long  night  thus  wore  away.  Wherever 
moonlight  showed  our  troops,  they  were  harassed  by  shot 
from  the  enemy's  artillery.  But  at  daylight  Sir  H.  Har- 
dinge,  the  Gova-nor-General,  placed  himself  at  the  head  of 
the  left  wing,  and  Sir  Hugh  Gough  at  the  head  of  the 
right,  and  an  advance  was  again  made.  The  village  of 
Ferozeshah  was  taken,  and  then  our  force,  swaying  round 
on  the  centre,  took  the  whole  position.  The  British  line 
halted  as  though  on  parade,  receiving  its  two  leaders,  as 
they  rode  along  in  front,  with  enthusiastic  cheers,  and 
displaying  the  captured  standards  of  the  enemy.  We  took 
seventy-three  pieces  of  cannon.  Yet  other  attempts  of 
the  dauntless  enemy  continued,  and  it  was  only  after  our 
exhausted  cavalry  had  been  advanced  to  threaten  both 
his  flanks  that  he  abandoned  the  field.  The  Sikh  army 
then  retreated  on  the  fords  of  the  River  Sutlej. 

But  in  the  following  year  their  ambition  to  conquer 
India  again  revived,  and  the  village  of  Aliwal  gave  its 
name  to  the  next  battle.  Sir  Harry  Smith,  afterwards 
distinguished  in  African  warfare,  and  after  whose  wife 
Ladysmith,  in  Natal,  was  named,  was  the  British  com- 
mander. The  country  was  open  grass  land.  There  was 
no  dust,  and  the  sun  shone  brightly.  The  glistening  of 
swords  and  bayonets  was  most  imposing  as  the  British  line 
advanced.  The  enemy's  artillery  fire  quickly  reached  us. 
Carrying  the  village  with  his  right.  Sir  Harry  Smith  at- 
tacked the  Sikhs'  centre,  which  for  some  time  made  a  des- 
perate defence  at  another  village,  but  all  to  no  purpose. 
Native  troops  and  British  alike  greatly  distinguished 
themselves,  and  "  the  battle  was  won,  our  troops  advanc- 
ing to  the  passage  of  the  river.  The  enemy  precipitated 
themselves  in  disordered  masses  into  the  ford  and  boats. 
Our  howitzers  played  on  them.  Then  the  debris  of  the 
Sikh  army  appeared  on  the  opposite  high  bank  of  the 
river,  flying  in  every  direction.  Nine  of  their  guns  were 
on  the  verge  of  the  river.     They  had  been  unlimbered  to 

156 


EVENTS  OF    THE    LATER    FORTIES 

cover  the  ford.  These  were  fired  on  us.  Two  were  stick- 
ing in  the  stream;  one  of  them  we  got  out.  Two  were 
seen  to  sink  in  the  quicksand.  Two  were  dragged  to  the 
opposite  bank  and  abandoned. "  The  trophies  taken  com- 
pleted the  number  of  one  hundred  and  forty-three  guns 
captured.  The  Sikhs  retreated  to  Sobraon,  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  River  Sutlej.  It  was  detennined  to  carry  it  by 
storm.  Sir  Hugh  Gough  was  again  in  command.  The 
task  was  a  difficult  one.  Thirty  thousand  of  the  best 
troops  of  the  enemy  held  the  place,  with  seventy  cannon  A 
bridge  gave  them  communication  with  another  large  force, 
also  provided  with  artillery.  "  It  had  been  intended, ' '  wrote 
the  commander-in-chief, "  that  the  cannonade  should  have 
commenced  at  daybreak ;  but  so  heavy  a  mist  hung  over  the 
plain  and  river  that  we  had  to  wait  for  the  sun  to  clear  the  at- 
mosphere. At  nine  o'clock  infantry  and  guns  advanced, 
the  artillery  taking  up  successive  positions  at  the  gallop 
until  they  were  within  three  hundred  yards  of  the  enemy. 
So  hot  was  the  enemy's  fire  that  it  seemed  impossible 
to  win  the  intrenchments,  but  persevering  gallantry  tri- 
umphed, and  the  troops  effected  a  lodgment  in  the  encamp- 
ment. The  thunder  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  pieces  of 
ordnance  reverberated  in  the  mighty  combat  through  the 
valley  of  the  Sutlej,  and  as  it  was  seen  that  it  was  likely 
that  the  weight  of  all  the  Sikh  army  would  be  thrown  on 
to  the  two  brigades  that  had  passed  the  trenches,  the  at- 
tack had  to  be  made  close  and  serious.  The  battle  raged 
with  inconceivable  fury  from  right  to  left.  The  Sikhs, 
even  when  at  particular  points  their  intrenchments  were 
mastered  with  the  bayonet,  strove  to  regain  them  by  the 
fiercest  conflict,  sword  in  hand.  The  cavalry  behaved 
nobly,  and  all  available  men  were  brought  into  the  attack- 
ing line.  The  fire  of  the  Sikhs  first  slackened,  and  then 
nearly  ceased,  and  the  victors  threw  them  in  masses  over 
the  bridge  and  into  the  Sutlej,  which  a  sudden  rise  had 
rendered  hardly  fordable.  Hundreds  upon  hundreds  were 
drowned  in  attempting  the  perilous  passage.  Their  awful 
slaughter  would  have  excited  compassion  had  they  not  sul- 

157 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER   LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

lied  their  gallantry  by  mangling  every  wounded  soldier 
whom  the  fortune  of  war  had  left  at  their  mercy.  The 
Ghoorkhas  in  our  army,  soldiers  of  small  stature  but  in- 
domitable spirit,  armed  with  the  short  weapons  of  their 
mountains,  were  a  terror  to  the  Sikhs  throughout  this 
great  combat.  Sixty-seven  pieces  of  cannon,  two  hun- 
dred camel  swivel  guns,  standards,  and  vast  stores  were 
captured.  The  battle  was  over  by  eleven  in  the  morning. 
About  nine  thousand  Sildis  perished,  and  two  thousand 
four  hundred  killed  and  womided  on  the  British  side 
showed  the  severity  of  the  battle.  A  treaty  of  peace  was 
signed  with  the  Lahore  govermnent,  and  Lahore  was  oc- 
cupied by  a  garrison  of  British. 

But  in  1848  British  agents  were  murdered  at  Mooltan, 
and  that  city  was  besieged  by  eighteen  thousand  British 
and  native  troops.  Sir  Hugh,  now  Lord  Gough,  had  to 
resume  his  old  work  on  the  Sutlej.  It  was  not  until  after 
a  fine  defence  that  Mooltan  fell.  Chuttur  and  his  son 
Shere  Sing  commanded  another  Sikh  host  at  Chillian- 
wallah,  a  village  which  they  strongly  held,  and  where 
they  were  attacked  by  Lord  Gough,  a  fearful  battle  ensu- 
ing. Colin  Campbell,  afterwards  destined  to  distinguish 
himself  and  be  promoted  to  the  peerage  as  Lord  Clyde, 
commanded  a  brigade  on  the  left,  and  greatly  contributed 
to  the  final  successful  result.  At  one  time  of  the  attack 
he  told  me  he  had  seen  a  Sikh  defending  a  place  in  the  in- 
trenchment  which  was  hotly  attacked  by  our  men.  It  was 
a  narrow  place,  where  only  one  man  could  advance  at  a 
time.  A  Sikh  had  cut  down  successively  several  men, 
when,  by  Campbell's  directions,  another,  making  a  feint, 
parried  the  Sikh's  stroke,  and  then,  driving  his  bayonet 
into  him,  opened  the  way  for  his  comrades  to  success.  But 
some  of  our  cavalry  during  the  action  were  put  to  flight, 
and  the  Sikhs  got  in  among  the  guns,  carrying  off  six  of 
them.  Two  thousand  three  hundred  of  the  British  were 
killed  or  wounded.  Five  colors  were  taken,  and  the  enemy 
fired  a  salute  at  night  in  honor  of  what  they  considered  a 
victory.     They  soon  offered  battle  again  at  Goojerat,and 

158 


EVENTS    OF   THE    LATER    FORTIES 

again  Lord  Gough  did  not  hesitate  to  attack.  This  time  the 
Sikhs  had  sixty  thousand  men  and  fifty-nine  guns  advan- 
tageously placed.  Some  xVfghan  forces  were  also  with 
them.  Their  camp  encircled  the  town,  and  the  army  was 
between  the  town  and  the  bed  of  the  river.  The  British 
had  twenty-five  thousand  men.  The  Sikh  guns  were 
served  with  their  accustomed  rapidity,  but  ours  gradually 
drove  them  back.  A  number  of  villages  were  stormed  by 
the  British  infantry,  the  camps  captured,  and  the  enemy 
completely  routed.  The  surrender  of  their  arms  by  the 
brave  Punjaubees  soon  followed.  The  guns  given  up  were 
forty-one,  making  the  total  number  of  guns  captured  since 
the  war  began  one  hundred  and  fifty-eight.  The  annex- 
ation of  the  Punjaub  followed.  The  Maharajah  Dhuleep 
Singh  was  brought  to  England  and  educated  there,  and 
Lahore  became  the  capital  of  the  northwestern  provinces: 
The  gem  which  was  the  chief  treasure  of  the  crown  of 
Lahore  has  since  been  famous  in  England.  It  was  the 
diamond  called  the  Mountain  of  Light  (Koh-i-noor),  now 
in  the  King's  possession  It  is  a  wonderful  stone,  and 
was  worn  by  Queen  Victoria  on  State  occasions.  When 
Sir  John  Lawrence,  afterwards  Governor-General,  was 
British  resident  at  Lahore,  there  came  a  time  when  riots 
were  feared,  and  Lawrence  thought  that  the  great  dia- 
mond would  be  in  peril.  He  went  to  the  treasury  and 
asked  to  see  the  State  jewels.  These  were  brought  to  him, 
and  he  took  the  diamond,  telling  the  treasurer  that  he 
would  soon  return  it  to  him.  The  treasurer,  having  full 
confidence  in  the  "Lord  Sahib,"  assented,  and  Lawrence 
walked  home  with  the  Koh-i-noor  in  his  pocket.  His  head 
was  full  of  the  anticipated  dangers,  and  when  he  reached 
his  house  he  was  still  absent-minded,  and  mechanically 
opened  a  drawer  and  placed  the  diamond  in  it,  and  went 
to  his  desk  and  wrote  for  some  hours.  By  the  time  he  had 
finished,  word  was  brought  to  him  of  circumstances  which 
gave  him  yet  further  uneasiness.  He  went  out,  and  was 
occupied  constantly  for  some  days.  He  forgot  all  about 
the  Koh-i-noor!     After  some  days  "affairs  settled  down/' 

159 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

as  he  said,  and  at  a  durbar  held  by  the  Maharajah,  the 
treasurer,  as  usual,  had  the  trays  of  the  State  jewels  car- 
ried past  the  throne.  The  great  diamond  was  not  among 
them.  "Where  is  the  Koh-i-noor?"  demanded  the  Ma- 
harajah. The  treasurer  salaamed,  and,  turning  to  Law- 
rence, said  that  it  was  in  the  possession  of  the  Sahib.  But 
Lawrence  had  for  the  moment  completely  forgotten  that 
he  had  taken  the  jewel,  and  asked  the  treasurer  what  he 
meant  by  such  a  statement.  All  eyes  were  now  turned 
on  the  two.  The  treasurer,  again  salaaming,  said  it  was 
as  he  had  declared.  Lawrence  denied,  and  yet  felt  dis- 
tressed, for  he  believed  the  treasurer  honest,  as  did  the 
assembly,  who  all  evidently  disbelieved  the  British  resi- 
dent. The  Maharajah  meantime  sat  silent,  and  com- 
manded the  durbar  to  proceed.  Lawrence  went  home 
much  perturbed,  searched  and  found  the  diamond,  and 
immediately  sent  to  the  Maharajah  the  lost  gem,  and  a 
full  account  of  the  circumstances.  The  British  resident 
was  liked  by  the  Prince,  who  made  a  joke  of  the  incident. 

But  this  w^as  an  adventure  which  the  gem  passed  through 
in  its  old  age.  It  came  from  near  Golconda,  having  been 
found  in  the  mine  of  Colore,  in  the  sixteenth  century.  It 
had  been  in  the  throne  of  Aurungzabe,  and  it  had  orna- 
mented an  idol  in  Orissa.  It  was  taken  by  the  great  con- 
queror Timur  from  Pandoor  Rajah,  whose  rule  was  said 
to  have  extended  over  all  India.  Ranjit  Singh,  the  "Lion 
of  Lahore,"  used  to  wear  it  in  the  last  century  in  an  arm- 
let, set  in  gold  and  rubies.  A  French  traveller,  Taver- 
nier,  knew  it  when  the  Great  Mogul  had  it,  and,  uncut,  it 
was  said  to  weigh  nine  hundred  carats.  The  Indian  cut- 
ting reduced  it  to  two  hundred  and  seventy-nine  carats, 
and  it  was  again  changed  in  form  at  Amsterdam,  after  it 
had  been  sent  to  England  in  1849. 

There  was  a  wonderful  ruby  at  Lahore  also,  and  an- 
other famous  diamond  of  much  smaller  size,  the  "  Nassick," 
which  was  bought  by  the  Marquis  of  Westminster.  At  a 
ball  at  Grosvenor  House  the  late  Duchess  of  Westminster 
was  wearing  it,  and  it  became  detached  from  its  fastening 

160 


ONE   OF   THE   QUEEN's   EARLY   DRAWING-ROOMS 
(From  a  picture  by  A.  E.  Chalon,  R.A.) 


EVENTS    OF   THE    LATER    FORTIES 

and  fell.  It  was  not  found  for  half  an  hour,  when  one  of 
the  guests  trod  on  something,  and,  picking  it  up,  said, 
"Oh,  here's  a  chandelier  drop";  however,  it  was  not  a  bit 
of  Bohemian  glass,  but  the  historic  diamond,  which  he 
laughingly  said  he  was  very  sorry  to  return  to  its  owner. 

Rudyard  Kipling's  father  had  lately  established  a  col- 
lege of  art  at  Lahore,  and  Ram  Singh,  one  of  his  pupils,^ 
decorated  the  Indian  Hall  at  Osborne. 

After  following  the  events  in  India  so  far  ahead,  we 
must  see  something  of  the  Queen's  movements  and  the 
events  in  which  she  was  able  to  take  a  personal  part.  She 
was  always  anxious  to  follow  the  fortunes  of  her  Indian 
Empire  in  spirit;  but,  much  as  she  desired  to  see  that 
country,  such  good  fortune  was  not  in  store  for  her, 
for  it  was  not  till  many  years  later  that  she  could  hear 
from  her  eldest  son  of  the  grand  loyalty  which  animated, 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  latter  part  of  her  reign,  its 
princes  and  its  people 

The  6th  of  August,  1844,  brought  Prince  Alfred  into  the 
world,  and  one  of  those  who  were  present  at  the  christen- 
ing at  Windsor  was  the  Prince  of  Prussia,  afterwards  the 
Emperor  William,  "The  scene  in  the  chapel,"  the  Queen 
said,  "  was  very  solemn,  and  the  organ  has  always  a  mov- 
ing effect  on  me.  To  see  these  two  children  there  too  [the 
Prince  of  Wales  and  Princess  Royal]  seemed  such  a  dream 
to  me.  May  God  bless  them  all,  poor  little  things,  and 
that  our  youngest  really  may  be  as  good  as  his  beloved 
father  was  my  fervent  prayer  during  the  service,  as  always 
for  all  of  them." 

In  October,  Lady  Lyttelton  describes  King  Louis  Phi- 
lippe's return  visit,  "  As  this  is  an  historical  day,  I  think 
I  will  not  be  lazy,  but  just  write  you  a  word  of  an  event 
while  it  is  fresh.  At  two  o'clock  he  arrived,  this  curious 
King.  Worth  seeing  if  ever  body  was.  The  Queen  hav- 
ing graciously  permitted  me  to  be  present,  I  joined  the 
Court  in  the  corridor,  and  then  the  Queen  of  England  came 
out  of  her  room  to  go  and  receive  the  King  of  France.  Her 
Majesty  had  not  long  to  wait  in  the  annory,  before  she 
L  161 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

received  him  at  the  entrance  to  the  State  apartments. 
From  the  armory,  amid  all  the  old  trophies,  knights' 
armor.  Nelson's  bust,  Marlborough's  flags  and  Welling- 
ton's, we  saw  the  first  of  the  escort  enter  the  Quadrangle, 
and  down  went  the  Queen,  and  we  after  her,  to  the  out- 
side of  the  door  on  the  pavement  of  the  Quadrangle,  just 
in  time  to  see  the  escort  clattering  up,  and  the  carriage 
close  behind.  The  old  man  was  much  moved,  I  think, 
and  his  hand  shook  as  he  alighted. 

"  He  was  dressed  in  a  blue  uniform  with  a  red  ribbon 
across  it,  and  stars  on  his  breast,  his  coat  being  in  the 
fashion  of  the  uniforms  of  the  day,  cut  away  in  front,  and 
swallow-tailed.  He  wore  trousers  of  the  French  red.  His 
cocked  hat  was  in  his  hand,  so  that  his  gray  hair  was 
seen.  His  countenance  is  striking,  much  better  than  the 
portraits ;  his  embrace  of  the  Queen  very  parental  and  nice. 
Montpensier  is  a  handsome  youth,  and  the  courtiers  and 
ministers  very  well-looking,  grave,  gentleman-like  people. 
It  was  a  striking  piece  of  real  history,  and  made  one  feel 
and  think  much." 

The  Queen  wrote :  "  The  King  embraced  me  most  warm- 
13^  and  kindly,  and  said,  'How  much  pleasure  I  have  in 
saluting  you!'  He  seemed  quite  touched,  and  led  me  up- 
stairs. What  emotions  and  thoughts  must  fill  his  breast 
on  coming  here  1  He  is  the  first  King  of  France  who  comes 
on  a  visit  to  the  sovereign  of  this  country — a  very  eventful 
epoch  indeed,  and  one  which  will  surely  bring  good  fruits. 
The  King  said,  as  he  went  up  the  Grand  Staircase  tow- 
ards his  apartments, ' Dieu !  comme  c'est  beau!'  A  little 
before  three  o'clock  the  King  and  Montpensier  came  over 
to  the  White  Room,  and  lunched  with  us  and  mamma,  the 
King  sitting  just  where  the  Emperor  of  Russia  used  to  sit. 
He  was  in  the  highest  spirits,  repeating  again  and  again 
how  happy  he  was  to  be  here,  and  full  of  recollections  of 
what  had  happened  during  his  stay  in  England.  He  had 
met  with  a  very  enthusiastic  reception.  I  never  saw  any- 
body more  pleased,  or  more  amused,  in  looking  at  every 
picture  and  every  bust.     He  knew  every  bust  and  every- 

162 


EVENTS   OF    THE    LATER    FORTIES 

thing  about  everybody  here  in  a  most  wonderful  way. 
Such  a  memory,  such  activity;  it  is  a  pleasure  to  show 
him  anything,  as  he  is  so  pleased  and  interested.  He  is 
enchanted  with  the  castle,  and  repeated  to  me  again  and 
again,  as  also  to  all  his  people,  how  he  had  feared  that 
what  he  had  so  earnestly  wished  since  I  came  to  the  throne 
would  not  take  place,  and  'Dieul  comme  cela  m'a  fait 
plaisir  de  vous  donner  le  bras ! ' 

"At  dinner  the  King  talked  much  of  England,  of  hav- 
ing lived  here  so  long,  and  liking  it  so  much,  his  being 
devoue  to  us,  of  our  late  difficulties,  about  which  he  was 
most  grateful  for  our  having  helped  so  much  to  smooth. 
I  wish  I  could  put  down  his  conversations — they  are  so  able 
and  amusing.  How  many  suites  we  have  seen  here,  as 
Albert  said — the  King  of  Prussia's,  the  Archduke's,  the 
Emperor  of  Russia's,  the  King  of  Saxony's,  and  now  that 
of  the  King  of  the  French. 

"  October  9th. — After  breakfast  we  went  over  to  the  King, 
and  sat  with  him  some  little  while.  He  is  an  extraordinary 
man.  He  talked  much  of  our  last  difficulties,  and  the  Eng- 
lish nation  having  been  so  excited.  He  said  the  French 
nation  did  not  wish  for  war,  but  they  loved  to  '  claquer '  like 
postilions,  without  knowing  the  bad  consequences.  Then 
he  said  the  French  did  not  understand  being  negociants 
like  the  English,  nor  the  necessity  of  good  faith,  which 
gives  this  country  such  stability.  And  then  again, '  France 
cannot  make  war  on  England,  who  is  the  Triton  of  the  seas. 
England  is  the  greatest  empire  in  the  world.'  Then  the 
King  talked  of  the  Tahiti  affair,  which  he  said  he  desired 
were  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  and  which  he  would  much 
wish  to  be  quite  rid  of.  The  French  only  wanted  it  for 
their  whalers,  which  he  trusted  the  Marquesas  would  do  for. 

"The  next  day  we  proceeded  by  Staines — where  the 
King  recognized  the  inn  and  everything — to  Twicken- 
ham, where  we  drove  up  to  the  house  where  he  used  to  live  ; 
which  is  a  very  pretty  house,  much  embellished  since  the 
King  lived  there,  but  otherwise  much  the  same.  He  walk- 
ed round  the  garden  in  spite  of  a  heavy  shower.     He  di- 

163 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

reeled  the  postilion  which  way  to  go  to  pass  by  the  house 
where  he  Hved  for  five  years  with  his  brother  before  his 
marriage.  We  drove  to  Hampton  Court.  The  King  re- 
mained a  long  time  looking  at  the  pictures  and  marking 
in  the  catalogue  those  he  intended  to  have  copied  for  Ver- 
sailles. We  then  drove  to  Claremont,  and  after  luncheon 
took  a  hurried  walk  in  the  grounds.  The  evening  was  cold 
and  fine,  and  the  King  was  far  more  heartily  and  affection- 
ately received  wherever  he  was  seen  than  was  the  Em- 
peror of  Russia,  many  crying  'Vive  le  Roi,''Long  live 
Louis  Philippe. '  At  Chertsey  a  man  made  a  French  speech. 
There  was  a  great  crowd  when  coming  home  near  the 
gates,  and  the  King,  who  had  a  friendly  way  of  bowing 
very  low  with  his  hat  and  stretching  out  his  hands,  said, 
'I  never  had  such  a  reception.     How  much  it  touches  me!' 

"  At  dinner  the  King  talked  to  me  of  the  time  when  he 
was  in  school  in  the  Grisons  as  a  simple  teacher  receiving 
twenty  pence  a  day,  having  to  brush  his  own  boots,  under 
the  name  of  Chabot.    What  an  eventful  life  has  his  been!" 

At  his  investiture  the  next  day  with  the  Order  of  the 
Garter,  the  King  was  introduced  to  the  room  by  Prince 
Albert  and  the  Duke  of  Cambridge.  The  Queen  wrote: 
"  When  he  approached  we  all  rose,  and  the  King  bowed  in 
due  form  as  he  came  up.  I  turned  to  him  and  said, '  I  have 
the  pleasure  of  announcing  to  your  Majesty  that  you  are 
elected  a  Knight  of  the  Most  Noble  Order  of  the  Garter.' 
Albert  then  placed  the  garter  around  the  King's  leg.  The 
King  said  to  me,  '  I  wish  to  kiss  your  hand,'  which  he  did 
afterwards,  and  I  embraced  him.  The  Duke  of  Cam- 
bridge assisted  me  in  placing  the  ribbon  over  the  King's 
shoulder.  The  King  then  walked  round  the  table,  shak- 
ing hands  with  each  of  the  knights,  after  which  they  were 
called  over,  and  we  accompanied  the  King  to  his  rooms, 
where  he  again  and  again  thanked  us  for  our  kindness. 
At  four  o'clock  we  again  went  over  to  the  King's  room, 
and  I  placed  at  his  feet  a  large  cup  representing  St. George 
and  the  Dragon,  with  which  he  was  very  much  pleased. 

"  He  spoke  m  the  highest  terms  of  Albert.     '  Oh,  he  will 

164 


EVENTS    OF   THE    LATER    FORTIES 

do  wonders;  he  is  so  wise.  He  does  not  go  too  fast.  He 
gains  so  much  on  being  known.  He  will  always  give  you 
good  advice.  Do  not  think  that  I  say  this  to  flatter  you. 
No,  no;  it  comes  from  my  heart.  He  will  be  like  his  uncle, 
just  as  wise  and  just  as  good.  That  is  what  I  am  just 
writing  to  my  good  Louise.  He  will  be  of  the  greatest  use 
to  you,  and  he  will  keep  you  well  at  his  side  if  vicissitudes 
come  upon  you,  which  I  hope  will  never  happen;  but  of 
this  one  can  never  be  certain.'  He  was  most  kind  and 
paternal,  and  pleased  and  touched  me.  Both  the  Em- 
peror and  the  King  of  the  French,  two  most  different  peo- 
ple, have  joined  in  the  same  opinion  about  my  beloved 
Albert." 

Nothing  pleased  the  Queen  more  than  to  have  the  op- 
portunity of  accepting  the  invitations  of  her  distinguished 
subjects  to  their  country  houses,  and  during  her  reign 
these  were  kept  up  on  the  old  footing  of  abundant  hospi- 
tality. Large  numbers  of  persons  in  the  rural  districts 
found  employment  in  the  stables,  the  gardens,  the  home 
farms,  and  the  other  industries  promoted  by  such  estab- 
lishments. It  should  have  been  the  policy  of  govern- 
ments to  encourage  such  rural  employment.  Instead, 
however,  a  contrary  line  of  conduct  has  been  carried  out, 
through  the  financial  policy  of  recent  years,  by  the  suc- 
cession duties,  which  make  country  estates  pay  more  than 
they  can  bear,  and  thus  diminish  to  a  most  serious  extent 
the  opportunities  for  occupation  hitherto  afforded. 

Among  the  great  houses  whose  owners  did  "  their  duty 
to  the  land,"  as  the  phrase  was,  to  the  utmost  of  their 
jxjwer,  taking  part  in  all  local  affairs,  as  well  as  in  Imperial 
politics,  were  the  Dukes  of  Buckingham,  whose  house  at 
Stowe  has  recently  been  the  abode  of  members  of  the  Or- 
leans family. 

The  Queen  visited  the  Duke  in  1845.  All  the  way  from 
London  flags  were  flying,  and  people  assembled  to  catch 
a  glimpse  of  the  royal  party.  Triumphal  arches  spanned 
the  way  between  Wolverton  and  Stony  Stratford.  Near 
the  town  of  Buckingham,  directions  were  given  for  the 

165 


VICTORIA  R.  I.  HER   LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

horses  to  proceed  slowl3^.  Every  street  was  a  mass  of 
flags,  streamers,  and  flowers;  five  hundred  of  the  tenantry 
on  horseback,  with  scarlet  rosettes,  fined  the  road  before 
the  house,  where  there  were  more  than  five  hundred  labor- 
ers, all  employed  upon  the  estate.  The  Duke's  family  re- 
ceived the  royal  travellers  at  the  door  of  the  great  build- 
ing, which  is  of  stately  architecture,  and  forms  a  fine  centre 
to  the  park,  where  landscape  gardening,  as  the  artificial 
improvement  of  land  and  water  used  to  be  called,  was  ad- 
mirably carried  out,  well-grouped  woods  enhancing  the 
effect  of  the  whole. 

The  Queen  wore  a  black  velvet  dress  and  tunic,  and  a 
white  silk  bonnet  with  lilac  flowers;  and  before  going  to 
her  rooms,  asked  the  Duke  to  let  her  look  a  little  longer  at 
the  assembly  of  English  country  folk,  who,  in  a  wide  half- 
circle,  were  still  shouting  their  welcomes  and  waving  their 
hats.  Nor  would  the  people  leave  for  some  time  after  the 
Queen  had  disappeared  within  the  house,  although  they 
knew  that  at  their  homes  all  were  to  have  an  excellent 
dinner  provided  for  them,  and,  in  addition,  a  crown  piece, 
as  a  remembrance  of  the  daj^ 

The  Queen  went  through  the  marble  room  and  the  prin- 
cipal apartments,  which  formed  one  long  set  of  chambers 
opening  into  each  other,  and  full  of  beautiful  things.  The 
rooms  set  apart  for  the  visitors  were  the  Rembrandt  room, 
so  called  from  pictures  by  that  artist  on  the  walls;  the 
breakfast  and  small  dining  parlor,  the  ante-librar3^,  library, 
music-room.  State  drawing-room,  State  dining-room,  State 
dressing-room,  and  a  State  bedchamber.  Indeed,  the  size  of 
Stowe  almost  allowed  as  much  accommodation  to  be  given 
to  the  party  as  when,  on  another  occasion,  when  travelling 
in  Germany,  Lord  Clarendon,  the  minister  in  attendance 
on  the  Queen,  was  allowed  the  use  of  no  fewer  than  thir- 
teen rooms,  at  a  palace  which  formerly  belonged  to  one  of 
the  prince-bishops. 

The  curtains  and  covers  of  the  chairs,  etc.,  were  of  China 
silk,  worked  in  silver  on  yellow.  Most  of  the  furniture 
was  of  marqueterie;  two  fine  cabinets  inlaid  with  ivory 

i66 


EVENTS  OF    THE    LATER    FORTIES 

and  mother-o '-pearl  and  colored  woods,  each  with  a  chas- 
ing in  the  centre  in  silver  gilt;  a  clock  formerly  in  the  pal- 
ace of  Versailles,  a  table  of  mosaics  and  another  of  mala- 
chite, a  chimney-piece  of  Italian  white  and  colored  marble, 
old  Worcester  porcelain,  and  a  State  bed  made  in  1737  for 
Frederick,  Prince  of  Wales,  with  fluted  pillars  at  each  cor- 
ner, supporting  a  crimson  canopy  of  gilded  pine  above, 
with  hangings  of  crimson  and  yellow  silk  damask,  were 
some  of  the  beautiful  things  to  be  seen  in  the  bed  and  dress- 
ing rooms. 

In  the  State  drawing-room  there  was  yellow  silk  on  the 
walls,  a  great  crystal  chandelier  hanging  from  the  centre 
of  the  ceiling,  a  marble  chimney-piece  with  porphyry  col- 
umns, a  clock  supported  by  figures  in  porcelain  made  by 
the  famous  Vulliamy,  crimson  velvet-covered  furniture 
from  Venice,  and  pictures  of  the  Sibyl  by  Domenichino  ; 
great  vases  of  china,  a  marble  mosaic  from  Rome,  can- 
delabra given  by  Louis  XV.  to  Madame  de  Pompadour, 
tables  of  inlaid  marble,  agate,  and  Egyptian  alabaster, 
and  fine  old  china,  Dresden,  and  Sevres. 

The  Queen's  dressing-room  was  white  and  gold,  with 
pictures  by  Teniers,  Ostade,  and  Cuyp.  The  other  rooms 
had  pictures  by  Carlo  Dolci,  Correggio,  Raphael,  Poussin, 
Rubens,  Vandyke,  and  others.  Fine  tapestry  gave  a  wel- 
come rest  to  the  eye  apt  to  weary  with  so  much  richness  of 
decoration.  In  the  dining-room  were  great  masses  of  gold 
and  silver  plate.  The  whole  front  of  the  house  was  illumi- 
nated in  the  evening.  The  two  daj^s'  stay  was  chiefly  oc- 
cupied in  seeing  the  treasures  of  the  house,  and  visiting  the 
various  memorial  temples  and  points  of  view  about  the  park. 

The  Bucks  Yeomanry  were  given  the  title  of  Royal  in 
commemoration  of  their  attendance  upon  the  Queen. 

The  Duke  of  Wellington  had  also  the  pleasure  of  receiv- 
ing the  Queen  at  Strathfieldsaye,  a  place  which  had  been 
given  to  him  by  the  country  on  his  making  choice  of  it  in 
preference  to  Bramshill,  which  at  one  time  it  had  been  pro- 
posed to  purchase  for  him  The  visitors  travelled  through 
Bracknell  and   Wokingham,   where   Mr.   Shaw  Lefevre, 

167 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER   LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons,  at  the  head  of  the 
Hants  Yeomanry,  met  them.  At  Swallowfield  the  Duke 
of  WelHngton  and  his  son.  Lord  Douro,  were  in  waiting. 
The  Duke  of  Wellington  took  off  his  hat  and  bowed  to  the 
Queen,  who  cordially  returned  his  greeting,  and  then,  tak- 
ing his  place  in  front  of  the  Queen's  carriage  and  four,  rode 
on  with  other  gentlemen  to  show  the  way.  Arriving  at  five 
o'clock,  the  Duke  dismounted,  threw  his  overcoat  to  the 
groom,  opened  the  Queen's  carriage  door,  and  led  her  into 
the  house.  The  Dukes  of  Devonshire  and  Bedford,  Lord 
Jersey,  Sir  Robert  Peel,  and  many  others  welcomed  them. 

Next  day  there  was  shooting.  There  were  a  consid- 
erable number  of  guns,  but  the  quantity  of  game  killed 
sounds  small  in  comparison  with  the  bags  made  in  the 
present  day,  for  it  is  recorded  that  after  shooting  for  three 
hours,  during  which  time  three  hundred  and  three  shots 
were  fired,  fortj^-six  hares,  sixty-eight  pheasants,  fourteen 
rabbits,  and  three  woodcock  were  killed ;  total,  one  hundred 
and  thirty-one  head.  Prince  Albert  shot  with  three  guns, 
and  the  Duke  of  Wellington  is  reported  to  have  made  two 
or  three  remarkable  shots.  They  drove  to  see  Sir  John 
Cope's  fine,  noble  Elizabethan  house  on  Bramshill. 

The  next  day  the  number  of  shots  fired  by  the  sports- 
men was  again  minutely  counted,  and  numbered  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-eight,  with  only  seventy-one  head  of  game 
killed,  of  which  the  Prince  shot  twenty-three  pheasants, 
twelve  hares,  and  six  rabbits. 

The  country  near  the  Duke's  house  is  just  at  the  edge 
of  the  comparatively  barren  district,  full  of  heath  and  pine, 
which  extends  from  Bramshill  to  far  south  in  Hampshire. 
There  is  only  a  small  park,  through  which  an  avenue 
sweeps  up  to  the  house.  A  little  river  called  the  Lodden 
runs  through  some  good  timber,  but  it  cannot  be  said  that 
there  is  very  much  beauty  in  the  situation  of  the  place,  or 
in  its  grounds.  The  house  lies  low,  almost  on  a  level  with 
the  river,  and  was  built  in  the  time  of  Queen  Anne.  It  has 
clumps  of  tall  chimneys ;  its  walls  are  not  high,  but  the 
structure  is  one  of  considerable  length. 

168 


EVENTS   OF   THE    LATER    FORTIES 

Nor  are  the  rooms  inside  remarkable.  The  Duke  had 
everything  about  him  very  plain,  both  at  Strathfieldsaye 
and  at  Walmer.  Indeed,  there  was  hardly  any  attempt  at 
decoration  with  any  remarkable  product  of  brush  or  chisel. 
There  was  a  good  library.  The  Duke  was  always  quite 
contented  to  be  surrounded  by  things  that  were  substantial 
and  comfortable,  and  did  not  in  the  least  care  for  any  show. 
He  lived  very  simply,  but  as  Lord-Lieutenant  of  the  county 
he  had  to  attend  to  county  business,  and  made  it  a  point  to 
be  at  home  to  entertain  the  judges  whenever  their  circuit 
brought  them  near  his  place. 

He  used  to  breakfast  with  his  guests  at  ten,  going  after- 
wards to  his  own  rooms,  where  he  worked  for  several  hours 
answering  letters,  never  varying  this  routine  except  when 
he  was  hunting,  and  only,  as  a  rule,  leaving  the  house  at 
wo  o'clock.  He  dined  at  seven  o'clock,  and  after  tea, 
which  in  those  days  used  always  to  follow  dinner  at  a  brief 
interval,  sat  down  to  whist,  when  the  stakes  never  ex- 
ceeded five  -  shilling  points.  He  spent  the  whole  of  the 
rental  upon  the  improvement  of  the  property.  He  used 
to  say  that  he  had  no  business  to  expend  the  money  other- 
wise, "because  the  next  Duke  of  Wellington  may  not  be 
as  rich  a  man  as  I  am,  and  he  should  therefore  receive  the 
property  in  the  best  order.  If  he  cannot  keep  it  so,  the 
fault  will  not  be  mine. "  All  his  tenantry  were  well  lodged, 
and  they  considered  themselves  happy  to  be  under  the  Iron 
Duke. 

The  Duke  took  the  Queen  in  to  dinner  during  the  two 
days'  stay,  which  was  the  usual  period  for  the  sovereign's 
visits  to  last.  After  dinner  he  got  up  and  said:  "With 
your  Majesty's  permission,  I  give  the  health  of  her  Maj- 
esty," and  then  the  same  for  the  Prince.  They  then  ad- 
journed to  the  library,  and  the  Duke  sat  upon  the  sofa  by 
the  Queen  for  the  rest  of  the  evening  until  eleven  o'clock, 
the  Prince  and  gentlemen  being  scattered  about  in  the 
library  or  billiard-room,  which  opens  into  it,  or  in  the  large 
conservatory.  The  band  of  the  Duke's  Grenadier  Regi- 
ment played  through  the  evening. 

169 


ICTORIA  R.  1.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

Germany  was  next  to  be  visited,  and  the  Queen  much 
disliked  leaving,  for  the  first  time,  her  children.  She 
wrote  on  August  8,  1845 :  "  A  very  fine  morning  when  we 
got  up.  Both  Vicky  and  Alice  were  with  me  while  I 
dressed.  'Why  am  I  not  going  to  Germany?'  asked  the 
eldest.  Most  willingly  would  I  have  taken  her,  and  wish- 
ed much  to  have  taken  one  of  dearest  Albert's  children  to 
Coburg ;  but  the  journey  is  a  serious  undertaking,  particu- 
larly the  first  time,  and  she  is  very  young,  too;  but  what 
chiefly  decides  us  is  a  visit  to  the  King  of  Prussia,  where  I 
could  not  have  looked  after  her." 

At  Antwerp  they  had  bad  weather,  "  but  the  people  have 
illuminated  the  town  with  those  triangular  illuminations 
on  the  tops  of  long  poles,  as  when  we  were  here  before." 
The  King  and  Queen  of  the  Belgians  met  them  at  Malines. 
At  the  Prussian  frontier  they  were  met  by  Chevalier  Bun- 
sen  and  others.  "  To  hear  the  people  speak  German,"  said 
the  Queen,  "  and  to  see  the  German  soldiers,  seemed  to  me 
so  singular.  I  overheard  the  people  saying  that  I  looked 
'very  English.'  At  Briihl,  after  breakfast,  we  drove  to 
the  railroad,  Albert  with  the  King  of  Prussia,  the  Queen 
with  the  Austrian  Archduke,  who  had  been  sent  here  to 
compliment  me,  and  the  Prince  of  Prussia  with  me.  We 
went  by  rail  to  Bonn.  We  drove  to  the  house  of  Prince 
Fiirstenburg.  Many  gentlemen  connected  with  the  uni- 
versity, who  had  known  Albert,  were  there,  and  delighted 
to  see  him  and  pleased  to  see  me, 

"We  drove  from  Bonn  to  Albert's  former  little  house, 
which  is  just  as  it  was,  and  in  no  way  altered.  From  a 
bower  in  the  garden  you  have  a  beautiful  view  of  the  Kreuz- 
burg,  a  convent  situate  on  the  top  of  a  hill.  The  Sieben 
Gebirge  you  also  see." 

Meyerbeer  conducted  a  great  concert  at  Cologne.  A 
steamer  took  them  up  the  Rhine,  twenty  thousand  troops 
saluting  along  the  rampart  lines  of  Ehrenbreitstein  and 
at  Coblentz.  Alexander  von  Humboldt  was  among  those 
who  met  them  at  Mayence.  Prince  Louis  of  Hesse,  whom 
the  Queen  called  "a  very  fine  boy  of  eight,  nice,  and  full 

170 


THE    gl KKN    IN    1S45 
(From  a  painting  by  John  Partridge) 


EVENTS    OF    THE    LATER    FORTIES 

of  intelligence,"  destined  afterwards  to  marry  one  of  the 
children  who  had  been  left  at  home  with  such  regret,  was 
brought  to  see  the  Queen  at  Aschaffenburg,  where  that 
same  boy  was  called  upon,  in  1866,  to  fight  against  the 
Prussian  troops. 

The  end  of  the  journey  is  thus  described  in  the  Queen's 
Journal :  "  At  length  we  saw  flags,  and  the  people  drawn 
up  in  lines,  and  in  a  few  minutes  more  we  were  welcomed 
by  Ernest  [Duke  of  Coburg],  in  full  uniform.  We  got 
into  an  open  carriage  of  Ernest's,  with  six  horses,  Ernest 
being  opposite  to  us.  The  good  people  were  all  dressed  in 
their  best,  the  women  in  pointed  caps  and  many  petti- 
coats, and  the  men  in  yellow  breeches.  Many  girls  were 
there  with  wreaths  of  flowers;  and  at  Ketchendorf  we 
found  Uncle  Leopold.  Then  the  procession  was  formed. 
At  the  entrance  to  the  town  there  was  a  triumphal  arch, 
where  the  Biu"gomaster  addressed  us,  and  was  quite  over- 
come. On  the  other  side  stood  a  number  of  young  girls 
dressed  in  white,  with  green  wreaths  and  scarves,  who 
presented  us  with  bouquets  and  verses.  I  cannot  say  how 
much  I  felt  moved  on  entering  this  dear  old  place,  and  with 
difficulty  I  restrained  my  emotion.  The  beautifully  orna- 
mented town,  the  numbers  of  good  people,  the  manj''  recollec- 
tions connected  with  the  place — all  were  so  affecting.  In 
the  Platz,  where  are  the  Town  Hall  and  Government  House 
— fine,  curious  old  houses — the  clergy  were  assembled." 

At  the  palace  they  found  "the  staircase  full  of  cousins." 
The  next  day  they  went  to  the  country  house  of  the  Rose- 
nau.  "  How  happy,  how  joyful,  we  were  on  awaking  to  feel 
ourselves  here  at  the  Rosenau,  my  Albert's  birthplace,  the 
place  he  most  loves.  He  was  so  happy  to  be  here  with 
me;  it  was  like  a  beautiful  dream.  Before  breakfast  we 
went  up-stairs  where  he  and  Ernest  used  to  live,  which  is 
quite  in  the  roof,  with  a  tiny  bedroom  on  each  side,  in  one 
of  which  they  both  used  to  sleep.  The  view  is  beautiful. 
The  paper  of  the  room  is  still  full  of  holes  from  their 
fencing,  and  the  same  table  is  there  on  which  they  were 
dressed  when  little." 

171 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

They  went  to  the  excellent  little  theatre  at  the  capital, 
and  even  the  unemotional  Lord  Aberdeen  "was  pleased 
beyond  everything  with  our  dear  little  country,  and  thinks 
it  beautiful,  and  the  people  good  and  comfortable."  They 
were  greeted,  especially  on  the  Prince's  birthday,  by  musi- 
cal societies  singing  beneath  their  windows,  a  custom  which 
the  Queen  particularly  enjoyed. 

On  the  way  back  they  had  cheering  news  of  affairs 
in  England  from  Sir  Robert  Peel,  and  they  reached  home 
after  again  visiting  the  King  of  the  French.  Little  did 
they  imagine  that  both  Sir  Robert  Peel  and  the  King  were 
approaching  the  end  of  their  political  career. 

Peel's  government  succumbed  under  the  assaults  of 
Disraeli,  whose  attacks  upon  its  leader  were  constant 
and  violent. 

This  was  in  1846,  and  from  this  time  forward  Disraeli's 
attacks  were  incessant.  Sir  Robert  continued  to  take  an 
active  part,  bearing  most  magnanimously  the  attacks 
made  upon  him  by  former  friends  as  well  as  by  foes  until 
1850,  when  he  warmly  defended  Lord  Palmerston,  who 
had  been  his  colleague.  Going  from  the  House,  he  at- 
tended a  meeting  of  the  commissioners  for  the  Crystal 
Palace;  and  then,  after  calling  at  Buckingham  Palace, 
he  rode  down  Constitution  Hill,  where,  stopping  to  have 
a  talk  with  a  daughter  of  Lady  Dover,  who  was  also  on 
horseback,  his  horse  suddenly  became  restive,  threw  him 
off,  and  seemed  to  fall  with  its  knees  on  his  shoulders. 
A  medical  man,  happening  to  pass  in  his  carriage,  took 
Sir  Robert  home,  where  Sir  James  Clark,  one  of  the  Queen's 
physicians,  also  attended  him.  Sir  Robert  fainted  on  the 
doorstep  of  his  house.  Surgeons  were  sent  for,  but  his 
pain  was  so  great  when  they  tried  to  ascertain  the  nat- 
ure of  his  hurt  that  they  had  to  abandon  their  examina- 
tion on  account  of  his  anguish.  It  was  afterwards  found 
that  one  of  his  ribs  had  penetrated  his  lung.  His  de- 
lirium made  him  try  to  leap  from  his  bed,  and  then  he 
became  unconscious.  He  awoke  only  to  be  able  to  say 
to  his  family,  "God  bless  you,  God  bless  you,"  and  died. 

172 


EVENTS   OF   THE    LATER   FORTIES 

The  Queen  wrote:  "Peel  is  to  be  buried  to-day.  The 
sorrow  and  grief  are  most  touching  and  the  country  mourns 
over  him  as  over  a  father.  Every  one  seems  to  have  lost 
a  personal  friend." 

In  the  new  government  Lord  John  Russell  was  Prime  \ 
Minister  and  Lord  Palmerston  and  Lord  Grey  were  For-  | 
eign  and  Colonial  Secretaries. 

Princess  Helena  was  born  on  May  25,  1846. 

The  purchase  of  Osborne  and  the  arrangements  made 
there  for  the  improvement  of  the  place,  together  with  the 
completion  of  the  first  part  of  the  house,  which  they  were 
able  to  finish,  gave  the  Queen  and  Prince  Albert  much 
pleasure. 

Lady  Lyttelton  wrote  on  December  i6th:  "Our  first 
night  in  this  house  is  well  passed.  Nobody  complained 
of  the  smell  of  paint,  or  caught  cold,  and  the  worst  is  over. 
Everj^hing  in  the  house  is  quite  new,  and  the  drawing- 
room  looks  very  handsome.  The  lights  of  the  lamps  in  the 
windows  in  this  room  must  have  been  seen  far  out  at  sea. 
At  dinner  we  were  to  drink  the  Queen's  and  the  Prince's 
health  as  a  house-warming,  and  after  it  the  Prince  said, 
very  simply  and  seriously,  'We  have  a  psalm  in  Ger- 
many for  such  occasions,'  and  then  quoted  it.  It  was  'to 
bless  our  going  out  and  coming  in,  our  daily  bread,  and 
all  we  do;  bless  us  to  a  blessed  dying,  and  make  us  heirs 
of  heaven.'  It  was  dry  and  quaint,  being  Luther's.  We 
all  perceived  that  he  was  feeling  it,  and  truly  the  entering 
of  a  new  house  is  a  solemn  thing  to  do  to  those  whose  space 
of  life  in  it  is  possibly  not  long,  and  who,  in  spite  of  rank 
and  health  and  youth,  may  be  going  down-hill  now. 

"I  forgot  the  best  part  of  our  breaking  in,  which  was 
that  Lucy  Kerr  insisted  on  throwing  an  old  shoe  into  the 
house  after  the  Queen,  as  she  entered  for  the  first  night, 
this  being  a  Scottish  superstition.  She  wanted  also  to 
have  some  melted  lead  and  sundry  other  charms,  but  they 
were  not  forthcoming." 

The  Queen  had  spoken  to  Louis  Philippe  about  diffi- 
culties in  Spain  likely  to  arise  if,  as  was  reported,  it  was 

173 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

desired  that  the  son  of  the  King  of  the  French  should  mar- 
ry with  the  Infanta  of  Spain.  At  Eu  the  King  had  said 
that  he  would  never  hear  of  Montpensier's  marriage  with 
the  Infanta  until  it  was  no  longer  a  political  question, 
which  would  be  when  the  Queen  was  married  and  had 
children.  The  long  negotiations  which  took  place  in  re- 
gard to  this  Spanish  marriage  extended  over  a  wide  area. 
Prince  Leopold  and  many  other  bridegrooms  being  pro- 
posed. 

We  cannot  here  go  into  any  details,  but  merely  note 
that  the  conduct  of  the  French  government  strained  the 
relations  between  that  country  and  England. 

Louis  Philippe  had  endeavored  to  get  more  and  more 
power  into  his  own  hands.  The  franchise  was  very  re- 
stricted. He  intrigued,  against  his  promise  to  England, 
for  his  son  Montpensier  to  marry  a  Spanish  princess, 
and  arranged  the  marriage  of  the  Queen  of  Spain  to  a 
man  who  was  mentally  weak.  Thus  he  calculated  that 
Montpensier,  or  his  children,  might  succeed  to  the  throne. 
Louis  Philippe,  in  vulgar  phrase,  was  in  his  mature  cun- 
ning "  too  clever  by  half. "  The  Spaniards  disliked  Mont- 
pensier, and  the  friendship  of  England  was  risked  for  no 
good.  Early  in  1848  the  increasing  dissatisfaction  in 
Paris  found  vent  in  the  usual  manner — namely,  by  the 
erection  of  barricades.  The  royal  stables  were  attacked, 
and  the  royal  carriages  burned.  The  National  Guard 
fraternized  with  the  mob  and  fired  on  the  regular  troops. 
The  King  and  Queen's  escape  from  the  palace,  when  the 
mob  entered  it,  was  thus  narrated:  "They, with  the  Due 
and  Duchesse  de  Nemours,  Due  and  Duchesse  de  Montpen- 
sier, and  the  Duke  and  Duchess  August  of  Saxe-Coburg, 
remained  at  first  surrounded  by  a  large  number  of  per- 
sonal friends.  The  Due  de  Broglie,  M.  Thiers,  and  many 
members  of  the  Legislature  were  with  them.  The  Due 
de  Nemours  had  the  command  of  the  troops  drawn  up  in 
the  court-yard  of  the  palace,  and  there  is  every  reason  to 
believe  that  they  were  ready  and  willing  to  act  against 
the  insurgent   populace,   which  was   rapidly  advancing 

174 


EVENTS  OF  THE  LATER  FORTIES 

towards  the  Place  du  Carrousel.  But  the  National  Guards 
retired  before  the  crowd,  and  when  they  reached  the  pal- 
ace they  cried  out  to  the  troops  of  the  line  not  to  fire  upon 
the  people.  The  Due  de  Nemours  seems  to  have  thought 
that  resistance  was  hopeless,  for  he  made  no  attempt  to 
check  the  progress  of  the  mob.  Not  a  shot  was  fired, 
and  the  troops  remained  inactive  while  the  people  throng- 
ed the  court -yard  and  swarmed  round  the  entrance  to 
the  palace.  News  was  brought  to  the  crowd  that  the 
King  had  abdicated.  He  had  left  the  palace.  At  the 
Pont  Tournant,  close  by,  a  troop  of  National  Guards  on 
horseback  was  seen,  fonning  the  head  of  a  procession, 
the  leading  persons  in  which,  by  gestures,  incited  the 
citizens  to  refrain  from  hostile  demonstration.  At  this 
moment  the  words  'a  great  misfortune'  were  heard,  and 
the  King  Louis  Philippe,  his  right  arm  passed  under  the 
left  ann  of  the  Queen,  on  whom  he  appeared  to  lean  for 
support,  was  seen  to  approach  from  the  gate  of  the  Tuil- 
eries,  in  the  midst  of  the  horsemen,  and  followed  by  aboul^ 
thirty  persons  in  different  uniforms.  The  Queen  walked 
with  a  firm  step,  and  cast  around  looks  of  assurance,  witb( 
anger  intermingled.  The  King  wore  a  black  coat,  with\ 
a  common  round  hat,  and  wore  no  orders.  The  Queen  \ 
was  in  full  mourning.  A  report  was  circulated  that  they 
were  going  to  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  to  deposit  the  act 
of  abdication.  Cries  of  'Vive  la  Reforme!'  'Vive  la 
France!'  and  even  by  two  or  three  persons  'Vive  le  Roi!' 
were  heard.  The  procession  had  scarcely  passed  the 
Pont  Tournant  when  the  King  and  Queen  and  the  whole 
party  made  a  sudden  halt.  In  a  moment  they  were  sur- 
rounded by  people  on  foot  and  on  horseback,  and  so  crowd- 
ed that  they  had  no  longer  their  freedom  of  motion.  Louis 
Philippe  seemed  alarmed  at  their  sudden  approach.  He 
turned  quickly  round,  let  go  the  Queen's  arm,  took  off 
his  hat,  raised  it  in  the  air,  and  cried  out  something  which 
the  noise  prevented  my  hearing.  In  fact,  the  cries  and 
pele-mele  were  general.  The  Queen  became  alarmed  at 
no  longer  feeling  the  King's  arm,  and  turned  round  in 

175 


VICTORIA  R.  I.  HER  LIFE  AND     EMPIRE 

extreme  haste,  saying  something  which  I  could  not  catch. 
At  this  moment  I  said,  'Madame,  fear  nothing;  go  on, 
the  crowds  will  open  before  you.'  Whether  her  anxiety 
made  her  misunderstand,  I  do  not  know;  but,  pushing 
back  my  hand,  she  exclaimed,  '  Leave  me  I '  with  a  most 
irritated  accent.  She  seized  hold  of  the  King's  arm,  and 
they  turned  their  steps  towards  two  small  black  carriages 
with  one  horse  each.  In  the  first  were  two  young  chil- 
dren. The  King  took  the  left  and  the  Queen  the  right, 
and  the  children,  with  their  faces  close  to  the  glass  of  the 
vehicle,  looked  at  the  crowd  with  the  utmost  curiosity. 
The  coachman  whipped  his  horses  violently,  and,  sur- 
rounded by  the  cavalry  and  the  National  Guards,  the 
carriages  passed.  They  went  off  as  hard  as  they  could 
drive  to  Versailles.  There  they  hired  a  common  car- 
riage to  convey  them  to  Dreux,  and  passed  the  night  at  the 
house  of  a  person  on  whose  fidelity  they  could  relj^  Here 
they  procured  disguises,  and  before  daylight  next  morn- 
ing set  out  on  their  journey  to  the  coast,  travelling  chief- 
ly by  night.  They  reached  Honiieur  early  on  the  morn- 
ing of  February  26th,  and  after  vainly  trying  to  embark 
at  Trouville,  on  account  of  the  storm,  got,  after  some 
more  anxious  days,  to  Honfleur,  where  they  found  a 
French  fishing-boat,  which  took  them  to  the  English 
steamer  Express.  This  vessel  landed  them  safely  at 
Newhaven.  Louis  PhiHppe  left  no  party  behind  him, 
and  lived  in  the  retirement  of  Claremont." 

It  is  pleasant  again  to  revert  to  one  of  those  excursions 
that  the  Queen  was  so  fond  of  making  into  the  country 
to  pay  visits  to  the  great  houses — where  ancient  history 
and  modem  hospitality  awakened  interest  and  adorned 
private  life.  One  of  these  visits  was  to  the  Duke  of  Nor- 
folk at  Arundel  Castle. 

Every  one  who  has  travelled  to  Portsmouth  knows  the 
fine  cluster  of  Norman  towers  and  rampart  walls,  with 
the  ruined  keep  above  it,  the  lofty  church  near  it,  and 
the  little  town  seen  across  the  meadow  flats  through 
which   the   Arun   River   winds;    and    has    admired,   in 

176 


EVENTS   OF   THE    LATER    FORTIES 

summer,  the  background  of  wooded  hills  which  enframes 
the  view  of  the  castle  home  of  the  first  of  the  English 
dukes. 

Norman  in  the  beginning,  it  had  been  restored  and  im- 
proved shortly  before  the  Queen's  visit,  just  as  now  again 
further  improvements  have  been  made,  and  a  fine  new 
tower  added  by  the  present  Duke,  who  has  happily  re- 
turned from  the  South  African  campaign,  having  been 
the  only  minister  who,  laying  down  for  a  time  high  office 
in  the  government,  chose  to  do  also  the  soldier's  duty 
in  the  field. 

The  very  name  is  Norman,  though  it  may  possibly  be 
that  the  arms  of  the  town,  which  bear  the  "Hirondelle," 
or  swallow,  may  have  been  given  to  it  as  a  play  upon  an 
older  word.  It  is  curious  how,  in  modern  France,  liber- 
ties have  been  taken  with  the  letter  "h,"  just  as  by  many 
in  England  in  regard  to  that  inconvenient  consonant. 
For  the  Norman-French  seem  to  have  pronounced  the 
word  as  "Ourundele,"  while  in  other  words  they  inva- 
riably pronounced  the  "h,"  which  is  so  carefully  avoided 
at  the  commencement  of  any  word  by  the  modern  Parisians. 

King  Alfred  of  the  Saxons  speaks  of  the  place,  which 
tends  to  show  that  "Hirondelle"  was  only  a  pun.  Will- 
iam the  Conqueror  gave  it  to  Montgomery,  and  when  the 
family  of  Albini  passed  it  on  to  the  Fitzalans,  it  came, 
by  marriage,  in  Elizabeth's  time,  to  the  Howards.  The 
castle  was  taken  and  retaken  during  the  civil  wars,  be- 
ing captured  by  Hopton  and  retaken  by  Waller.  Nor 
was  it  until  the  eleventh  Duke  of  Norfolk's  time,  at  the 
commencement  of  this  century,  that  it  was  made  fully 
habitable,  about  £600,000  being  spent  upon  it. 

There  is  a  fine  gateway  built  by  Montgomery — a  square 
tower  standing  over  an  archway,  communicating  with  the 
keep  above  by  a  raised  passage  carried  across  the  moat, 
just  as  in  the  case  of  the  Round  Tower  at  Windsor. 

The  wall  of  the  keep  was  seventy  feet  high.  There  were 
no  loopholes  or  windows  in  the  external  masonry,  so  that 
it  must  have  been  expected  that  the  garrison  would  have 

177 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

sufiQcient  space  along  the  parapet  to  work  their  mango- 
nels for  the  defence  of  the  place. 

The  outside  wall  facings  are  of  stone  from  Caen,  in  Nor- 
mandy. For  very  many  years  the  only  guests  in  the  keep 
were  a  number  of  American  owls.  There  is  an  immense 
dungeon  at  the  east  end  of  the  castle.  The  Barons'  Hall 
is  copied  from  Westminster  and  Eltham  and  Crosby  halls. 
It  had  an  open  roof  of  Spanish  chestnut,  and  had  a  stained- 
glass  window.  This  hall  is  one  hundred  and  fifteen  by 
thirty-five  feet. 

The  banqueting  -  room  was  originally  the  old  chapel. 
The  library  is  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  in  length. 
Many  interesting  portraits  escaped  the  civil  wars  and  sub- 
sequent ruin.  Holbein  painted  the  Duke  of  his  day,  and 
there  is  a  portrait  of  Richard  III.,  believed  to  be  the  only 
existing  painting  which  is  authentic  of  that  King.  An- 
other Holbein  shows  Christina,  Duchess  of  Milan,  painted 
by  command  of  Henry  VIII. ,  who  received  the  very  nat- 
ural answer  to  his  proposal  for  her  hand  that  if  she  had 
more  than  one  head  it  should  be  at  his  service ! 

The  Queen  went  from  Osborne,  embarking  on  the  Fairy, 
and  at  Portsmouth  Harbor  got  into  the  barge,  being  met 
at  Portsmouth  by  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  who  was  then 
Master  of  the  Horse.  They  then  drove  by  Emsworth  and 
Chichester  to  Arundel,  where  the  Duchess  of  Norfolk, 
Lord  and  Lady  Arundel,  the  Duchess  of  Sutherland,  Lord 
John  Russell,  Lord  Ellesmere,  and  others  met  them. 

Lord  and  Lady  Palmerston,  the  Marquis  of  Granby, 
the  Duke  and  Duchess  of  Bedford,  the  Duke  of  WelHng- 
ton  and  his  beautiful  daughter-in-law.  Lady  Douro,  and 
many  others  were  at  dinner.  All  the  castle  was  illumi- 
nated, and  a  great  display  of  fireworks  rejoiced  the  hearts 
of  the  townspeople  that  night.  Cannon  were  sent  from 
Woolwich  to  fire  salutes.  At  Burton  the  water  in  the 
great  pond,  which  covered  eighty  acres,  was  drained  away 
so  that  all  the  fish  might  be  sent  as  a  present  to  Arundel 
for  the  Queen's  entertairmient,  a  pike  of  thirty-five  pounds 
being  among  them. 

178 


QUEEN    victoria's    MOTHER 
(From    a    picture    by    Winterhalter) 


EVENTS   OF   THE    LATER    FORTIES 

The  party  visited  Petworth  House,  some  riding  and 
others  driving,  but  the  Duke  of  WeUington  contented 
himself  "with  a  ride  through  the  town  for  an  airing." 
After  a  very  agreeable  visit,  a  return  was  made  to  the 
Isle  of  Wight. 

In  the  autumn  of  1846  the  Queen  and  Prince  Albert 
went  in  their  yacht  to  Plymouth,  whence,  in  spite  of  bad 
weather,  they  made  many  excursions,  one  up  the  Tamar, 
going  first  a  little  way  up  the  St.  Germans  River,  with 
its  very  pretty  wooded  banks.  "  Tremarton  Castle  to  the 
right,  which  belongs  to  Bertie,  as  Duke  of  Cornwall,  and 
Jats  to  the  left.  How  extremely  pretty!"  wrote  the  Queen. 
"We  stopped  here  and  afterwards  turned  back,  and  went 
up  the  Tamar,  the  banks  of  which  at  first  seemed  fiat, 
but  as  we  proceeded  the  scenery  became  quite  beauti- 
ful—  richly  wooded  hills,  trees  growing  down  into  the 
water,  and  the  river  winding  so  much  as  to  have  the 
effect  of  a  lake. 

"  The  finest  parts  began  about  Saltash,  which  is  a  small 
but  prettily  built  town.  At  Tavy  the  river  becomes  very 
beautiful.  We  passed  numbers  of  mines  at  work.  At 
Cothele  we  landed  and  drove  up  a  steep  hill  under  fine  trees 
to  the  very  curious  old  house,  where  we  got  out  of  the  car- 
riage. It  stands  in  the  same  state  that  it  was  in  the  time 
of  Henry  VIII.,  and  is  in  great  preservation." 

The  Prince  made  an  expedition  to  Dartmore  Forest, 
and  the  Queen  said  that  when  she  had  to  meet  crowds 
without  him  she  felt  so  shy  and  put  out. 

After  steaming  to  Jersey  and  Guernsey,  the  Queen  and 
the  Prince  both  sketched  the  outlines  of  Herm  and  Jethou 
at  St.  Pierre. 

"  At  a  quarter  to  nine,"  she  said,  "  we  got  into  our  barge 
with  our  ladies.  Pier  and  shore  were  lined  with  people, 
the  ladies,  dressed  in  white,  singing  '  God  save  the  Queen ' 
and  strewing  the  ground  with  flowers.  The  people  were 
extremely  well-behaved  and  friendly,  and  received  us  very 
warmly  as  we  drove  through  the  narrow  streets,  which 
were  decorated  with  flowers  and  flags  and  lined  with  the 

179 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

Guernsey  militia,  two  thousand  strong,  with  their  sev- 
eral bands.     Some  of  the  militia  were  mounted. 

"At  St.  Helier's,  in  Jersey,  the  people  were  most  cord- 
ial in  their  welcome,  though  not  more  so  than  the  good 
Guernsey  people." 

They  went  to  St.  Michael's  and  then  to  the  Restormel 
mine.  "  Albert  and  I  got  into  one  of  the  trucks,  and  were 
dragged  in  by  the  miners.  The  miners  wear  a  curious 
woollen  dress  and  a  broad-rim  cap  with  a  rounded  crown, 
and  they  generally  have  a  candlestick  in  front  of  the  cap. 
This  time  candlesticks  were  stuck  along  the  side  of  the 
mine,  and  those  who  did  not  drag  or  push  the  truck  car- 
ried lights. 

"Albert  and  the  gentlemen  wore  miners'  hats.  There 
was  no  room  for  any  one  to  pass  between  the  trucks  and 
the  rocks,  and  only  just  room  enough  to  hold  up  one's 
head,  and  not  always  that.  It  had  a  most  curious  effect, 
and  there  was  something  unearthly  about  this  lit-up,  cav- 
ern-like place.  We  got  out  and  scrambled  a  little  way  to 
see  the  veins  of  ore,  and  Albert  knocked  off  some  pieces, 
but  in  general  it  is  blasted  by  gunpowder,  being  so  hard." 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  note  here  that  what  appears  to 
have  been  the  first  statue  of  Queen  Victoria  to  be  erected 
in  any  part  of  her  dominions  was  unveiled  at  Edinburgh 
on  January  24,  1844.  It  was  the  work  of  Mr.  (afterwards 
Sir  John)  Steell,  and  represents  the  Queen  seated  on  a 
throne  and  wearing  the  diadem.  With  her  right  hand  she 
grasps  the  sceptre,  and  her  left  reposes  on  an  orb. 

The  entire  pose  of  the  figure  is  suggestive  of  the  calm- 
ness that  comes  from  the  possession  of  power,  and  is  full 
of  quiet  grace  and  majesty. 

The  statue  is  of  colossal  size,  and  was  placed  in  a  very 
appropriate  position  on  the  colonnade  of  the  Royal  In- 
stitution, fronting  Prince's  Street.  The  figure  is  nearly 
four  times  life-size,  but  the  unusually  high  elevation  of 
the  pedestal  tends  to  reduce  its  apparent  size  and  makes 
it  harmonize  well  with  the  grand  proportions  of  the  mas- 
sive building  in  the  background. 

180 


EVENTS   OF   THE    LATER    FORTIES 

It  would  be  hard  indeed  to  tell  how  many  statues,  great 
and  small,  have  been  erected  in  various  parts  of  the  Brit- 
ish Empire  to  its  greatest  Queen.  In  the  Jubilee  year, 
more  especially,  such  local  memorials  of  a  glorious  reign 
were  erected  in  great  numbers. 

It  is  even  stated  that  the  natives  of  some  parts  of  India 
have  been  found  offering  a  veneration  scarcely  distin- 
guishable from  idol-worship  to  the  statues  of  the  Queen. 

But  the  truest  monument  to  the  great  Queen  is  surely 
to  be  seen  in  the  beneficent  influence  of  her  reign,  in  the 
consolidation  and  growth  of  the  Empire,  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  colonies,  and  in  the  general  amelioration  of 
the  condition  of  the  coimnunity  at  large.  Such  memo- 
rials, written  on  the  history  of  the  nation,  will  be  fresh 
when  bronze  and  marble  have  perished. 


CHAPTER  VI 

TOURS  OF  THE  QUEEN  AND  PRINCE  CONSORT 

We  must  say  more  about  the  impressions  made  by  the 
various  parts  of  Scotland,  to  which  the  Queen  paid  visits 
about  this  period. 

The  one  which,  perhaps,  most  impressed  her  was  that 
paid  to  Lord  Breadalbane's  beautiful  place  at  Taymouth. 
The  following  extracts  are  taken  from  Leaves  from  a 
Journal  : 

"Just  outside  Dunkeld,  before  a  triumphal  arch.  Lord 
Glenlyon's  Highlanders,  with  halberds,  met  us  and  form- 
ed our  guard,  a  piper  playing  before  us.  Dunkeld  is  beau- 
tifully situated  in  a  narrow  valley  on  the  banks  of  the 
Tay.  We  drove  to  where  the  Highlanders  were  all  drawn 
up  in  the  midst  of  their  encampments,  and  where  a  tent 
was  prepared  for  us  to  lunch  in.  Poor  Lord  Glenlyon 
received  us,  but  he  had  unfortunately  become  totally 
blind,  which  is  dreadful  for  him.  He  was  led  about  by 
his  wife,  which  was  very  melancholy.  His  blindness 
was  caused  by  over-fatigue. 

"The  Dowager  Lady  Glenlyon,  the  Mansfields,  Kin- 
noulls,  Buccleuchs,  and  many  others  were  there.  We 
walked  down  the  ranks  of  the  Highlanders,  and  then  par- 
took of  luncheon,  and  one  of  the  Highlanders  danced  a 
sword  dance;  some  others  danced  a  reel. 

"At  a  quarter  to  four  we  left  Dunkeld  as  we  came,  a  High- 
land guard  marching  with  us  till  we  reached  the  outside 
of  the  town.  The  drive  was  quite  beautiful  all  the  way 
to  Taj^mouth.  High  hills  on  each  side.  The  Tay  winds 
along  beautifully  and  the  hills  are  richly  wooded.  The 
hills  grew  higher  and  higher,  and  Albert  said  it  was  very 

182 


TOURS   OF  THE   QUEEN 

Swiss-looking  in  some  parts.  High  ribbed  mountains  ap- 
peared in  the  distance,  higher  than  any  we  had  yet  seen. 
This  was  near  Aberfeldy,  which  is  charmingly  situated. 

"  At  a  quarter  to  six  we  reached  Taymouth.  At  the  gate 
a  guard  of  Highlanders,  Lord  Breadalbane's  men,  met 
us.  Taymouth  lies  in  a  valley,  surrounded  by  high  wood- 
ed hills.  It  is  most  beautiful.  The  house  is  a  kind  of 
castle  built  of  granite.  The  coup  d'oeil  was  indescrib- 
able. There  were  a  number  of  Highlanders,  all  in  the 
Campbell  tartan,  drawn  up  in  front  of  the  house,  with 
Lord  Breadalbane,  himself  in  Highland  dress,  at  their 
head;  a  few  of  Sir  Neil  Menzies's  men  in  the  Menzies's 
red  and  white  tartan,  a  number  of  pipers  playing,  and  a 
company  of  the  92d  Highlanders,  also  in  kilts. 

"  The  firing  of  the  guns,  the  cheering  of  the  great  crowd, 
the  picturesqueness  of  the  dresses,  the  beauty  of  the  sur- 
rounding country,  with  its  rich  background  of  wooded 
hills,  altogether  formed  one  of  the  finest  scenes  imagin- 
able. It  seemed  as  if  a  great  chieftain,  in  old  and  feudal 
times,  was  receiving  his  sovereign.  It  was  princely  and 
romantic. 

"After  dinner  the  grounds  were  most  splendidly  illu- 
minated. A  whole  chain  of  lamps  along  the  railings, 
and  on  the  ground  was  written  in  lamps, '  Welcome,  Vic- 
toria—Albert.' 

"A  small  fort  which  is  up  in  the  woods  was  illumi- 
nated, and  bonfires  were  burning  on  the  tops  of  the  hills. 
I  never  saw  anything  so  fairylike.  There  were  some 
pretty  fireworks,  and  the  whole  ended  by  the  Highland- 
ers dancing  reels,  which  they  do  to  perfection,  to  the  sound 
of  the  pipes,  by  torchlight,  in  front  of  the  house.  It  had 
a  wild  and  very  gay  effect. 

"Next  day  Albert  went  off  at  half-past  nine  o'clock  to 
shoot  with  Lord  Breadalbane.  I  walked  out  with  the 
Duchess  of  Norfolk  along  a  path  overlooking  the  Tay, 
which  is  very  clear,  and  ripples  along  over  the  stones, 
the  high  mountains  forming  such  a  rich  background. 

"  We  got  up  to  the  dairy,  which  is  a  kind  of  Swiss  cot- 

183 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

tage  built  of  quartz,  very  clean  and  nice.  From  the  top 
of  it  there  is  a  very  pretty  view  of  Loch  Tay. 

"Albert  returned  at  half -past  three.  He  had  had 
excellent  sport,  and  the  trophies  of  it  were  brought  out 
before  the  house  —  nineteen  roedeer,  several  hares  and 
pheasants,  and  three  brace  of  grouse.  There  was  also  a 
capercailzie,  a  magnificent  large  bird.  Albert  had  been 
near  Aberfeldy,  and  had  to  shoot  and  walk  the  whole 
way  back.  Lord  Breadalbane  himself  beating,  and  three 
hundred  Highlanders  out. 

"We  went  at  five  with  Lady  Breadalbane  and  the 
Duchess  of  Sutherland  and  saw  part  of  Loch  Tay,  and 
drove  along  the  banks  of  the  Tay,  under  fine  trees,  and 
saw  Lord  Breadalbane's  American  buffaloes. 

"There  was  shooting  again  next  day.  I  walked  out 
with  the  Duchess  of  Norfolk  across  the  high  bridge  and 
along  the  grass  walk  overhanging  the  Tay.  Two  of  the 
Highland  guard,  w^ho  were  stationed  at  ahnost  every  gate 
in  the  park,  followed  us,  and  it  looked  like  olden  times  to 
see  them  with  their  swords  drawn.  At  a  lodge  in  the 
same  road  a  fat,  good-humored  little  woman,  about  forty 
years  old,  got  some  flowers  for  each  of  us.  The  Duchess 
gave  her  some  money,  saying,  'From  her  Majesty.'  I 
never  saw  any  one  more  surprised  than  she  was.  She, 
however,  came  up  to  me  and  said  very  warmly  that  my 
people  were  delighted  to  see  me  in  Scotland. 

"It  came  on  to  rain  very  heavily  soon  afterwards,  and 
we  saw  a  woman  in  the  river,  with  her  dress  tucked  up 
almost  to  her  knees,  washing  potatoes. 

"  Albert  had  had  very  hard  work  on  the  moors,  wading 
up  to  his  knees  in  bogs  every  now  and  then,  and  had 
killed  nine  brace  of  grouse. 

"We  lunched.  Then  we  went  to  the  drawing-room, 
and  saw  from  the  window  the  Highlanders  dancing  reels. 
There  were  nine  pipers  at  the  castle;  sometimes  one  and 
sometimes  three  played.  They  always  played  about  break- 
fast-time, again  during  the  morning,  at  luncheon,  and 
also  whenever  we  went  in  and  out,  again  before  dinner, 

184 


TOURS   OF   THE    QUEEN 

and  during  most  of  dinner-time.     We  both  have  become 
quite  fond  of  the  bagpipes. 

"In  the  evening  we  took  a  most  beautiful  drive  along 
part  of  the  lake  between  the  hills.  Such  grand  moun- 
tain secnery,  with  little  huts  so  low,  so  full  of  peat-smoke 
that  one  could  hardly  see  anything  for  smoke. 

"  We  saw  Ben  Lawers,  which  is  said  to  be  four  thousand 
feet  high.  And  farther  on,  quite  in  the  distance,  Ben 
More ;  also  Glen  Lyon  and  many  a  fine  glen.  It  was  quite 
dark  when  we  came  home  at  half-past  seven.  At  eight 
we  dined.  After  dinner  came  a  number  of  people,  about 
ninety,  and  there  was  a  ball,  which  opened  with  a  qua- 
drille, which  I  danced  with  Lord  Breadalbane,  and  Albert 
with  the  Duchess  of  Buccleuch.  A  number  of  reels  were 
danced,  which  are  very  amusing  and  pretty  to  see. 

"  Next  day  the  whole  party  went  down  to  the  lake,  where 
we  embarked.  Lady  Breadalbane,  the  Duchess  of  Suther- 
land, and  Lady  Elizabeth  went  by  land ;  all  the  others  in 
boats.     Two  pipers  sat  on  the  bow  and  played  very  often. 

"Our  row  of  sixteen  miles  up  Loch  Tay  to  Auchmore, 
a  cottage  of  Lord  Breadalbane 's  negiPthe  end  of  the  lake, 
was  the  prettiest  thing  imaginable.  We  saw  the  splendid 
scenery  to  such  great  advantage  on  both  sides — Ben  Law- 
ers, the  small  waterfalls  descending  its  sides,  with  other 
high  mountains,  wooded  here  and  there,  with  Kenmore 
in  the  distance.  The  view  looking  back  as  the  loch  winds 
was  most  beautiful.  The  boatmen  sang  two  Gaelic  boat 
songs;  very  wild  and  singular:  the  language  so  guttural 
and  yet  so  soft." 

The  Queen  revisited  Taymouth  in  1886,  with  the  Prin- 
cess Louise,  the  Dowager  Duchess  of  Athole,  and  Miss 
MacGregor. 

"We  did  not  wish  to  be  known,"  the  Queen  wrote, 
"and  we  decided  on  not  attempting  to  drive  through  the 
grounds,  and  contented  ourselves  with  getting  out  at  the 
gate,  close  to  a  small  fort,  into  which  we  were  led  by  a 
woman  from  the  gardener's  house  who  had  no  idea  who 
we  were. 

185 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

"We  got  out  and  looked  from  this  height  down  upon 
the  house  below,  the  mist  having  cleared  away  sufficient- 
ly to  show  us  everything;  and  then,  unknown  and  quite 
in  private,  gazed,  not  without  deep  emotion,  on  the  scene 
of  our  reception  twenty-four  years  ago  by  dear  Lord  Bread- 
albane  in  a  princely  style  not  to  be  equalled  in  grandeur 
and  poetic  effect.  Albert  and  I  were  then  only  twenty- 
three,  young  and  happy.  How  many  are  gone  that  were 
with  us  then!  I  was  very  thankful  to  see  it  again;  it 
seemed  unaltered." 

After  Taymouth  the  young  Queen  and  Prince  saw 
Drummond  Castle  and  its  beautiful  gardens,  with  "ter- 
races Hke  an  old  French  garden." 

The  Clyde  was  seen  in  1847.  On  the  way  there  they 
found  themselves  in  August  in  the  yacht  close  to  Ailsa 
Rock,  the  great  dome-shaped  mass  of  rock,  with  precip- 
itous sides,  rising  from  the  deep  water,  midway  between 
the  coast  of  Kintyre  and  Ayrshire. 

"The  fonnation  of  the  craig  is  very  curious,"  the  Queen 
writes.  "There  were  thousands  and  thousands  of  birds 
— gannets — on  the  rock,  and  we  fired  a  gun  off  three  times 
in  order  to  bring  them  in  reach  of  a  shot.  Albert  tried, 
but  in  vain. 

"  We  next  came  in  sight  of  the  beautiful  Isle  of  Arran. 
The  finest  point  is  when  you  are  before  the  Holy  Island 
and  in  sight  of  the  Goatfell  range  of  mountains.  The 
highest  is  about  two  thousand  eight  hundred  feet.  They 
are  peculiarly  fine  with  their  bold,  pointed  outlines.  Be- 
fore them  is  Lamlash  Bay. 

"After  passing  Holy  Island  we  came  to  Brodick  Bay, 
which  is  beautiful,  with  high  hills  and  a  glen,  in  front  of 
which,  surrounded  by  a  wood,  is  the  castle  which  Lord 
Douglas  is  building.  Not  long  after  this  we  came  in 
sight  of  the  Isle  of  Bute,  the  view  of  which,  from  Lord 
Bute's  property,  is  beautiful — wooded  banks,  the  river 
opening  out  and  widening,  surrounded  by  the  distant 
mountains. 

"At  half-past  twelve  we  reached  Greenock,  the  port  of 

186 


TOURS   OF    THE    QUEEN 

Glasgow.  The  shore  and  the  ships  were  crowded  with 
people,  there  being  no  less,  as  I  since  learned,  than  thirty- 
nine  steamers  overfilled  with  people,  which  all  followed 
us.  Such  a  thing  never  was  seen.  Add  to  these  steam- 
ers boats  and  ships  of  all  descriptions,  moving  in  all  di- 
rections, but  not  getting  out  of  the  way.  We,  however, 
got  safe  on  board  the  Fairy  and  steamed  up  the  Clyde." 

They  passed  the  small  town  of  Port  Glasgow,  and  about 
one  o'clock  were  at  Dumbarton  Rock.  "Its  situation  is 
very  fine,  rising  out  of  the  river,  with  the  town  of  Dum- 
barton behind  it." 

A  friend  tells  me  that  she  was  on  board  one  of  the  steam- 
ers which  went  close  to  the  royal  yacht,  and,  in  answer 
to  the  cheers  of  the  passengers,  the  Queen  waved  a  green 
parasol. 

"We  landed  below  the  castle  at  Dumbarton  and  went 
in  a  carriage  to  the  fort.  There  was  a  great  crowd,  but 
excellent  order  was  kept.  We  had  to  mount  many  steps  to 
get  to  the  battery.  Wallace  was  confined  here,  and  it 
was  one  of  the  last  castles  which  held  out  to  Mary  Queen 
of  Scots.  We  ought  to  have  seen  Ben  Lomond,  but  it 
was  in  mist. 

"We  returned,  escorted  by  nineteen  steamers,  past 
Greenock,  and  went  on  towards  Loch  Long,  passing 
Roseneath  to  the  right. 

"Loch  Long  is  indeed  splendid,  fifteen  miles  in  length, 
surrounded  by  grand  hills  and  such  beautiful  outlines, 
and  very  green.  All  so  different  from  the  eastern  part 
of  Scotland,  the  loch  winding  along  most  beautifully  so 
as  to  seem  closed  at  times.  The  finest  point  is  looking 
towards  Loch  Goil.  We  had  a  very  good  sight  of  the 
mountain  called  the  'Cobbler,'  the  top  of  which  resem- 
bles a  man  sitting  and  mending  his  shoe. 

"At  the  end  of  the  loch  we  got  a  glimpse  of  Ben  Lo- 
mond, and  were  in  fact  very  near  Loch  Lomond.  We 
returned  and  went  on  to  Rothesay  and  immediately  went 
on  board  the  Victoria  and  Albert,  greatly  tired,  but  much 
amused  and  interested. 

187 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

"The  children  enjoy  everything  extremely,  and  bear 
the  novelty  and  excitement  wonderfully.  The  people 
cheered  the  Duke  of  Rothesay  (a  title  belonging  to  the 
eldest  son  of  the  Sovereign  of  Scotland)  very  much,  and 
also  called  for  a  cheer  for  the  Princess  of  Great  Britain. 

"Rothesay  is  a  pretty  little  town  built  around  a  fine 
bay,  with  a  fine  harbor.  When  we  went  on  deck  after 
dinner  we  found  the  whole  town  brilliantly  illuminated 
and  every  window  lit  up,  which  had  a  very  pretty  effect." 

Next  day  they  went  round  the  southern  shore  of  Bute 
to  Loch  Fyne  and  up  that  long  ford,  finding  themselves, 
when  they  went  on  deck  again,  within  an  hour  of  Inver- 
ary,  where  the  lake  widens,  and  where  the  hills  on  either 
side  are  very  green  and  undulating,  but  not  very  high. 
The  approach  to  Inverary  is  splendid;  the  loch  is  very 
wide. 

"Straight  before  you,"  wrote  the  Queen,  "a  fine  range 
of  mountains  splendidly  lit  up — green,  pink,  and  lilac. 
To  the  left,  the  little  town  of  Inverary,  and  above  it,  sur- 
rounded by  pine  woods,  stands  the  Castle  of  Inverary, 
square,  with  turrets  at  the  comers. 

"  Our  reception  was  in  the  true  Highland  fashion.  The 
Duke  and  Duchess  of  Argyll  (dear  Lady  Elizabeth  Gower), 
the  Duchess  of  Sutherland,  Lord  Stafford,  Lady  Caroline 
Gower,  and  the  Blantyres  received  us  at  the  landing-place, 
which  was  all  ornamented  with  heather.  The  Celtic  So- 
ciety, including  Campbell  of  Isla,  his  two  sons,  one  grown 
up  and  the  other  a  very  pretty  boy,  and  a  large  nimiber 
of  his  men,  all  dressed  in  Highland  dress,  and  several 
other  Campbell  gentlemen,  were  all  drawn  up  near  to  the 
carriages. 

"  We  got  into  one  with  the  two  Duchesses,  Charles  and 
the  Duke  being  on  the  box.  We  left  the  children  on  board 
the  Fairy  and  took  a  beautiful  drive  among  the  magnif- 
icent trees  and  along  a  glen  called  Glen  Shira.  The 
weather  was  very  fine,  and  we  were  much  struck  by  the 
extreme  beauty  of  Inverary,  presenting  as  it  does  such 
a  combination  of  magnificent  timber,  of  high  mountains, 

i88 


TOURS   OF  THE    QUEEN 

and  a  noble  lake.  The  pipers  walked  before  the  car- 
riage and  the  Highlanders  on  either  side  as  we  approach- 
ed the  castle. 

"  We  lunched  at  two  with  our  hosts,  the  Highland  gen- 
tlemen standing  with  halberds  in  the  room.  We  sent  for 
our  children,  who  arrived  during  luncheon-time.  We  left 
Inverary  before  three,  and  took  the  children  with  us  in 
the  carriage." 

The  Duke  of  Argyll  thus  describes  the  visit : 

August  19,  1848. 

"All  went  off  perfectly  yesterday.  The  Queen  visited 
Inverary.  The  day  cleared  up  gloriously  just  as  the 
squadron  hove  in  sight.  The  light  on  the  hills  and  woods 
was  most  brilliant,  the  mist  rolling  off  the  tops,  the  ships 
and  steamers  covered  with  flags,  the  herring  fleet  well 
disposed  with  hanging  nets,  etc.  A  shov/  of  kilts  to  the 
number  at  least  of  three  himdred  and  fifty. 

"We  drove  the  Queen  and  Prince  off  at  once  on  land- 
ing to  see  the  old  beech  avenue  in  Glen  Shira  before  lunch. 
They  were  astonished  to  see  such  good  timber,  the  Prince 
remarking  every  fine  tree  that  he  passed.  In  the  Queen's 
carriage,  the  Queen  and  the  Prince,  Duchess  of  Argyll 
and  Duchess  of  Sutherland,  Prince  Leiningen  and  I  on 
the  dickey.  The  Queen  in  very  good  spirits  and  good- 
humored.  Campbell  of  Isla  alone  brought  two  hundred 
men  in  Highland  dress,  and  these  Campbell  gentlemen 
stood  with  halberds  and  axes  around  the  table  when  the 
Queen  was  at  lunch. 

"  The  re-embarkation  was  equally  successful,  the  Fairy 
coming  alongside  the  quay.  The  first  words  the  Queen 
said  to  me  when  I  handed  her  out  of  the  boat  was,  '  What 
a  beautiful  situation  this  is!'  She  took  my  arm  up  the 
quay,  which  was  covered  over  with  white  and  blue  cloth, 
and  lined  with  kilted  men.  The  Prince  handed  the  Duch- 
ess; the  same  order  in  going  in  to  dinner.  The  Queen 
most  kind  and  civil  to  everybody,  and  Isla's  little  boy, 
Walter,  when  he  was  presented  to  her,  knelt  and  kissed 

189 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

her  hand  in  a  most  graceful  way.  My  httle  Ian  positive- 
ly refused  to  kiss  the  hand  of  the  little  Princess  Royal, 
much  to  the  amusement  of  the  Queen." 

Continuing  the  voyage,  they  passed  southward  again 
until  they  had  rounded  the  Mull  of  Cantire,  fortunately 
in  fine  weather.  Passing  up  the  Atlantic  side  of  that 
long  promontory,  they  got  to  the  western  entrance  of  the 
Crinan  Canal,  and  so  onward  up  the  Sound  of  Kerrera 
to  Oban,  "one  of  the  finest  spots  we  have  seen,  the  ruins 
of  the  old  castle  of  Dunolly,  with  a  range  of  high  moun- 
tains in  the  distance,  to  the  left." 

Some  first  impressions  of  Edinburgh  may  be  mentioned 
here. 

"At  Granton  Pier,"  said  the  Queen,  "we  were  met  by 
the  Duke  of  Buccleuch,  Sir  Robert  Peel,  and  others.  Sir 
Robert  told  us  the  people  were  all  in  the  highest  good-hu- 
mor. We  got  into  a  barouche,  the  ladies  and  gentlemen 
following.  There  were,  however,  not  nearly  so  many 
people  in  Edinburgh,  though  the  crowd  and  crush  were 
such  that  one  was  continually  in  fear  of  accident. 

"  The  impression  Edinburgh  has  made  upon  us  is  very 
great.  It  is  quite  beautiful,  totally  unlike  anything  else 
I  have  seen,  and  what  is  even  more,  Albert,  who  has  seen 
so  much,  says  it  is  unlike  anything  he  ever  saw.  Every- 
thing is  built  of  massive  stone;  there  is  not  a  brick  to  be 
seen  anywhere.  The  High  Street,  which  is  pretty  steep, 
is  very  fine.  Then  the  castle,  situate  on  that  grand  rock 
in  the  middle  of  the  town,  is  most  striking.  On  the  other 
side,  the  Calton  Hill,  many  magnificent  buildings,  with 
Arthur's  seat  in  the  background  overtopping  the  whole, 
form  altogether  a  splendid  spectacle. 

"We  reached  Dalkeith  at  eleven,  a  large  house  con- 
structed of  reddish  stone,  the  greater  part  built  by  the 
Duchess  of  Monmouth.  The  park  is  very  extensive. 
The  house  has  three  fronts,  with  an  entrance  on  the  left 
as  you  drive  up.  We  were  shown  up  a  very  handsome 
staircase  to-  our  rooms,  which  are  very  comfortable. 

"At  breakfast  next  morning  I  tried  the  oat-meal  por- 

190 


PRINCE    ALBERT    I.\    THE    ROUES    OF   THE    GARTER 

(From  the  painting  by  W'interlialter) 


TOURS   OF   THE    QUEEN 

ridge,  which  I  think  very  good,  and  also  some  of  the 
Finnan  haddies.  We  then  walked  out.  The  pleasure 
grounds  seemed  very  extensive  and  beautiful,  wild  and 
hiil}^  We  walked  along  the  river  Esk,  up  a  steep  banli 
to  a  little  cottage,  and  came  home  by  the  upper  part  of 
the  walk. 

"Dalkeith  was  full  of  people.  The  old  women  wear 
that  kind  of  cap  which  they  call  a  'mutch,'  and  the 
young  girls  and  children  bareheaded,  with  flowing  hair, 
and  many  of  them  pretty  and  very  picturesque.  You 
hardly  see  any  women  with  bonnets. 

"On  Saturday  we  drove  in,  under  Arthur's  Seat,  to 
Edinburgh.  A  guard  of  Royal  Archers  met  us.  We 
passed  by  Holyrood  Chapel,  which  is  very  old  and  full 
of  interest,  and  Holyrood  Palace,  a  royal-looking  old  place. 
The  procession  moved  through  the  old  town  up  the  High 
Street,  which  is  a  most  extraordinary  street,  from  the  im- 
mense height  of  the  houses,  most  of  them  being  eleven 
stories  high,  and  different  families  live  in  each  story. 
Every  window  was  crammed  full  of  people.  They  show- 
ed us  Knox's  house,  a  curious  old  building.  There  is 
also  the  Regent  Murray's  house,  which  is  in  perfect  pres- 
ervation. In  the  old  town  the  high  church,  St.  Giles's,  and 
in  the  new  town  St.  Paul's,  are  very  fine  buildings. 

"  At  the  barrier  the  Provost  presented  us  with  the  keys. 
We  at  length  reached  the  castle,  to  the  top  of  which  we 
walked.  The  view  from  both  batteries  is  splendid,  Uke 
a  panorama  in  extent.  We  saw  looking  down  from  them 
Heriot's  Hospital,  a  very  beautiful  building,  founded  in 
the  time  of  James  VI.  of  Scotland  by  a  goldsmith  and 
jeweller,  whom  Sir  Walter  Scott  has  made  famous  in  his 
Fortunes  of  Nigel. 

"Then  in  carriages  we  proceeded  the  same  way  as  be- 
fore, the  pressure  of  the  crowd  being  really  quite  alarm- 
ing, and  we  were  both  quite  terrified,  and  the  Archer  Guard 
had  very  hard  work  of  it,  but  were  of  the  greatest  use. 
They  all  carry  a  bow  in  one  hand,  and  have  their  arrow 
stuck  through  their  belts." 

191 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

Another  day,  when  driving  past  the  castle  of  Craig 
Millar,  they  had  a  fine  view  of  Edinburgh  Castle.  On 
this  occasion  the  Queen  wrote :  "  I  forgot  to  say  that  when 
we  visited  it  we  saw  the  regalia,  which  are  very  old  and 
curious — they  were  lost  for  a  hundred  years — also  the 
room  in  which  James  the  Sixth  of  Scotland  and  First 
of  England  was  bom — such  a  very,  very  small  room, 
with  an  old  prayer  written  on  the  wall.  We  had  a  beau- 
tiful view  of  Edinburgh  and  the  Forth. " 

In  1847  the  Queen  visited  Cambridge  University,  of 
which  Prince  Albert  was  now  Chancellor. 

"  We  shot  along  in  the  train  from  London  to  Cambridge," 
said  Madame  Bunsen.  "Every  station,  and  bridge,  and 
resting-place,  and  spot  of  shade  was  peopled  with  eager 
faces  watching  for  the  Queen,  and  decorated  with  flowers ; 
but  the  largest,  and  the  brightest,  and  the  gayest,  and 
the  most  excited  assemblage  was  at  Cambridge  station 
itself.  And  from  thence,  along  the  streets  to  Trinity 
College,  the  degree  of  ornamentation  and  the  crowd  and 
excitement  were  always  increasing. 

"I  think  I  never  saw  so  many  children  before  in  one 
morning,  and  I  felt  so  much  moved  at  the  spectacle  of 
such  a  mass  of  life  collected  together  and  animated  by  one 
feeling,  and  that  a  joyous  one,  that  I  was  at  a  loss  to  con- 
ceive how  any  woman's  sides  can  bear  the  beating  of  so 
strong  a  throb  as  must  attend  the  consciousness  of  be- 
ing the  object  of  all  that  excitement,  the  centre  of  attrac- 
tion to  all  those  eyes.  But  the  Queen  has  royal  strength 
of  nerve. 

"We  met  the  well-fed  magistrates  and  yeomanry  go- 
ing to  await  the  Queen,  as  they  desired  to  fetch  her  from 
the  station  and  walk  in  procession  before  her  to  the  town. 
We  saw  her  entrance  into  Trinity  College  as  we  stood  at 
the  windows  of  the  lodge,  and  the  academic  crowd,  in 
their  picturesque  dresses,  were  as  loud  in  rejoicing  as 
any  mob  could  have  been. 

"Soon  after  I  went  with  Lady  Hardwicke  and  Lady 
Monteagle  to  take  our  places  in  the  yet  vacant  Great  Hall 

192 


TOURS   OF   THE   QUEEN 

of  Trinity,  whither  the  Queen  came  to  receive  the  Chan- 
cellor's address.  A  few  minutes  after  she  had  placed 
herself  on  the  throne  (that  is,  an  arm-chair  under  a  can- 
opy at  the  raised  extremity  of  the  hall).  Prince  Albert, 
as  Chancellor,  entered  at  the  opposite  end  in  a  beautiful 
dress  of  black  and  gold  with  a  long  train  held  up,  and 
made  a  graceful  bow  and  read  an  address,  to  which  the 
Queen  read  an  answer  with  peculiar  emphasis,  uttering 
approbation  of  the  choice  of  a  Chancellor  made  by  Cam- 
bridge! Both  kept  their  countenances  admirably,  and 
she  only  smiled  upon  the  Prince  at  the  close,  when  all 
was  over,  and  she  had  let  all  the  heads  of  houses  kiss  her 
hand,  which  they  did  with  exquisite  variety  of  awkward- 
ness, all  but  one  or  two. 

"Afterwards  the  Queen  dined  with  the  Vice-Chancel- 
lor  in  the  hall  of  a  small  college,  where  but  few,  compara- 
tively, could  be  admitted.  Later  in  the  evening  I  enjoy- 
ed a  walk  in  the  beautiful  garden  belonging  to  the  lodge, 
where  flowers,  planted  and  cared  for  in  the  best  manner, 
combined  with  fine  trees  and  picturesque  architecture. 
The  Queen  went  to  a  concert,  contrived  as  an  extra  op- 
portunity of  showing  her  to  the  public. 

"On  Tuesday  we  had  to  be  ready  before  ten  at  the  dis- 
tribution of  prizes  and  a  performance  of  the  Installation 
Ode  in  the  Senate  House.  This  was  quite  affecting,  be- 
cause the  selection  of  striking  points  is  founded  on  facts, 
and  all  exaggeration  and  humbug  are  avoided.  Then 
the  Queen  dined  in  the  Great  Hall  at  Trinity,  and  splen- 
did did  the  Great  Hall  look — three  hundred  and  thirty 
people  at  various  tables.  We  had  luncheon  at  Downing 
College,  and  the  Queen  came  thither  and  walked  round 
to  see  the  horticultural  show,  and  to  show  herself  and 
the  Chancellor.  After  this  there  was  a  great  dinner; 
the  Queen  and  her  immediate  following  at  a  table  across 
the  raised  end  of  the  hall,  all  the  rest  at  tables  length- 
ways. I  took  my  place  between  Lord  Spencer  and  the 
Duke  of  Buccleuch. 

"  Yesterday  I  went  with  the  Duchess  of  Sutherland  and 

193 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND   EMPIRE 

Lady  Desart  through  the  library.  King's  Chapel,  Clare 
Hall,  and  the  beautiful  avenues  and  gardens — green  turf, 
flowers,  and  water,  and  under  a  sun  and  sky  than  which 
nothing  could  be  finer. 

"At  one  the  Queen  set  out  through  the  cloisters  and 
hall  and  library  of  Trinity  College,  passed  through  the 
gardens  and  avenues — which  had  been  connected  for  the 
occasion  by  a  temporary  bridge  over  the  river  with  those 
of  St.  John's  College.  We  followed  her  through  the  joy- 
ous crowd  grouped  among  the  noble  trees.  Then  the 
Queen  sat  down  to  luncheon  in  a  tent,  and  we  were  placed 
at  her  table.  The  Queen  looked,  and  was,  well  pleased. 
She  was  very  well  dressed,  and  most  perfect  in  grace  and 
movement.  The  Duchess  of  Sutherland's  dress  was  a 
work  of  much  and  varied  art." 

State  visits  were  also  paid  to  the  great  schools  of  Eng- 
land which  were  fitting  English  boys  to  play  their  part 
upon  the  stage  of  history.  The  college  at  Eton  arose, 
with  its  towered  courts  and  ancient  chapel,  almost  at  the 
feet  of  the  Queen  when  she  looked  down  from  the  north 
terrace  over  wooded  slope  and  park  and  river  to  the  play- 
ing-fields and  gardens  of  that  famous  school. 

Henry  VI. 's  royal  foundation  did  not,  however,  alone 
enjoy  their  countenance.  They  paid  Harrow  a  visit  in 
November.  They  were  received  at  the  gates  by  the  head 
master,  then  Dr.  Vaughan,  and  were  taken  by  him  to  the 
speech  room,  where  the  boys,  at  that  time  only  about 
three  hundred  and  fifty  in  number,  cheered  as  though 
they  would  never  cease,  and  were  rewarded  by  the  Queen's 
commands  that  they  should  receive  an  extra  week's  holi- 
day. Accompanied  by  a  running  cortege  of  boys,  they 
were  then  shown  the  old  school,  where  they  could  exam- 
ine the  many  celebrated  names  carved  upon  the  forms 
and  panels. 

Next  they  descended  to  the  library,  a  new  building  in 
strong  contrast  to  the  old  Elizabethan  one  they  had  quit- 
ted, and  saw  the  book  containing  a  list  of  the  speeches 
dehvered  by  the  boys  on  their  annual  great  day  between 

194 


TOURS  OF    THE    QUEEN 

1792  and  1828.  All  the  inhabitants  of  the  hill  had  a  pub- 
lic dinner  and  drank  her  Majesty's  health  in  the  evening. 

Not  far  from  Harrow,  on  the  ridges  of  Stanmore,  is 
Bentley  Priory,  which  was  then  let  to  Queen  Adelaide. 

During  September,  1848,  the  first  visit  was  paid  to  Bal- 
moral, it  ha\  ing  been  for  some  time  a  wish  cherished  by 
the  Queen  to  have  a  place  in  the  Highlands  where  deer- 
stalking could  be  enjoyed  by  her  husband  and  where  a 
complete  contrast  from  State  and  ceremony  could  be  se- 
cured in  the  autumn. 

Full  of  joyous  anticipation  of  the  holiday,  they  started 
in  the  Victoria  and  Albert  yacht,  steaming  up  the  east 
coast,  being  saluted  off  Boston  by  a  French  man-of-war, 
and  at  other  points  by  many  vessels  who  sailed  as  close 
as  they  could  to  the  yacht  to  give  it  a  passing  cheer.  It 
was  considered  very  good  work  that  the  squadron  with 
her  Majesty's  vessel  accomplished  four  hundred  miles  in 
thirty  hours. 

All  the  people  in  Aberdeen  crowded  to  the  harbor,  and 
were  soon  delighted  by  seeing  the  Queen  and  her  little 
children  walk  ashore  with  the  Prince,  to  be  received  by 
their  Lord  Provost  and  magistrates,  who  presented  her 
husband  with  the  freedom  of  the  city,  the  Senate  of  the 
college  adding  an  expression  of  their  homage. 

Triumphal  arches  met  their  view  all  the  way  up  the 
road  which  passes  along  the  northern  bank  of  that  beau- 
tiful, bright  blue  river,  the  Dee.  A  guard  of  honor  from 
a  Highland  regiment  was  not  then  stationed  at  Ballater, 
but  at  the  old  castle  of  Braemar. 

It  was  the  first  experience  of  many  happy  days  and 
many  happy  years  spent  among  the  beautiful  mountains 
of  Aberdeen,  in  the  keen  and  healthy  air  that  blew  from 
the  peaks  of  Lochnagar,  over  the  fine  forest  of  Balloch- 
buie  and  Mar.  The  fine  and  peculiar  coloring  of  the  land- 
scape was  especially  pleasing.  The  more  level  ground 
near  the  impetuous  river  was  still  clothed,  despite  the  au- 
tumn, in  green.  Then  came,  near  the  edges  of  the  woods, 
the  bright  russet  of  the  fern,  lining  the  dark  verdure  of 

195 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

the  Scotch  firs,  which  rose,  ridge  above  ridge,  until  they 
became  scanty  and  widespread,  while  the  purple  bloom  of 
the  heather  was  still  in  full  flower,  to  be  succeeded  on  the 
higher  ranges  by  the  cold  escarpments  of  the  gray  gran- 
ite rock. 

There  was  already  snow  upon  the  highest  hills,  the 
cloud-capped  backs  of  Drim  Alban,  as  the  backbone  of 
Scotland  is  called  in  the  ancient  Gaelic  tongue,  being 
four  thousand  feet  in  height  and  containing  corries  and 
glens  so  hidden  from  the  sun  that  summer  could  not  whol- 
ly dissipate  the  snow.  These  heights  were  the  haunts  of 
the  ptarmigan,  the  bird  which,  though  gray  in  the  sum- 
mer time,  becomes  white  in  winter,  and  which  enjoys  the 
barren  and  stony  ground,  where  its  curious  rattling  note 
may  often  be  heard.  Of  grouse,  it  was  found  that  the 
numbers  were  not  great ;  but  the  deer  were  very  numerous. 

The  Queen  was  indefatigable  and  in  the  highest  spirits, 
inspecting  the  castle,  projecting  improvements,  and  ex- 
ploring the  hills.  Bonfires  glared  at  night  on  all  the 
neighboring  eminences.  Lady  Gainsborough,  Lady  Can- 
ning, Sir  George  Grey,  and  Lord  Alfred  Paget  were  with 
them,  and  Lord  John  Russell  soon  arrived  to  be  the  minis- 
ter in  attendance.  It  became  a  regular  custom  that  a 
minister  should  always  be  in  the  house  during  the  stay 
of  the  Queen  in  Scotland,  and  the  minister's  room,  now 
ornamented  with  prints  of  the  many  famous  occupants 
of  the  chamber,  is  on  the  ground  floor,  not  far  from  the 
principal  entrance. 

The  tours  in  Scotland  had  included  also  the  beautiful 
western  coast.  I  can  remember  an  encampment  of  High- 
landers who,  fully  equipped  by  the  Duke  of  Argyll,  Camp- 
bell of  Islay,  and  others,  had  their  tents  pitched  on  the 
lawn  between  Inverary  Castle  and  the  sea,  where,  just 
off  the  little  town,  the  royal  yacht  and  attendant  vessels 
were  moored.  The  rain,  so  common  in  the  district,  re- 
frained from  falling,  as  had  also  been  the  case  at  a  sim- 
ilar reception  given  to  her  at  Lord  Breadalbane's  beau- 
tiful place  of  Taymouth,  where  Prince  Albert  had  his  first 

196 


TOURS   OF    THE    QUEEN 

lessons  in  Highland  deer-stalking  under  Campbell  of  Mon- 
zie.  It  was  then  that  the  phrase  of  "Queen's  weather" 
first  came  into  use,  often  repeated  on  many  a  joyous  oc- 
casion throughout  her  lifetime,  for  it  was  indeed  singular 
how  far  more  often  it  was  sunshine  than  cloud  whenever 
she  appeared  in  public. 

The  drawback  to  the  beautiful  west  of  Scotland  lies 
in  its  dampness.  It  shares  this  drawback  with  Wales  and 
other  parts  of  the  west  of  England.  The  coloring,  owing 
to  the  moisture  in  the  air,  is  very  soft — russets,  purples, 
and  greens  being  all  far  softer  in  tint  and  richer  in  hue 
than  in  the  drier  atmospheres  in  the  east.  There  the  vis- 
ion sees  details  far  more  clearly,  and  everything  seems 
sharper  and  brighter. 

The  valley  of  the  Dee  has  a  dry  climate,  and  is  situated 
eight  hundred  feet  above  the  sea.  The  public  road  which 
runs  along  the  valley  traverses  a  bank  opposite  Balmor- 
al, and,  in  a  great  measure,  overlooks  the  grounds  of  the 
Queen's  residence.  Plantations,  however,  planted  at  the 
end  of  the  forties,  have  now  made  the  "  policies,"  as  the 
Scotch  call  the  area  immediately  surrounding  a  house, 
far  more  private  than  they  were.  Indeed,  all  the  hills 
upon  the  estate  that  the  Queen  bought  were  at  once  thick- 
ly planted.  Scotch  fir  and  birch  and  wood  natural  to  the 
district  quickly  rose  to  mingle  their  younger  green  with 
the  darker  shades  of  the  pines  of  the  older  forests,  which 
she  could  see  from  her  windows. 

Of  Balmoral  the  Queen  wrote :  "  It  is  a  pretty  little  cas- 
tle in  the  old  Scottish  style.  There  is  a  picturesque  tower 
and  garden  in  front,  with  a  high  wooded  hill.  There  is  a 
nice  little  hall  with  a  billiard-room ;  next  to  it  is  the  din- 
ing-room. Up-stairs,  immediately  to  the  right,  is  our  sit- 
ting-room, a  fine,  large  room ;  then  our  bedroom,  opening 
into  it  a  little  dressing-room  which  is  Albert's.  Opposite, 
down  a  few  steps,  are  the  children's  and  Miss  Hildyard's 
three  rooms.  The  ladies  lived  below  and  the  gentlemen 
up-stairs.  After  lunch  we  walked  out  and  went  to  the 
top  of  the  wooded  hill  opposite  our  windows,  where  there 

197 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

is  a  cairn,  and  up  which  there  is  a  pretty  winding  path. 
The  view  from  here  is  charming.  To  the  left  the  beau- 
tiful hills  surrounding  Lochnagar;  to  the  right  the  glen 
along  which  the  Dee  winds,  and  the  wooded  hills  which 
reminded  me  very  much  of  the  Thiiringerwald.  It  was  so 
calm,  and  so  solitary.  It  did  one  good  as  one  gazed  around ; 
the  pure  mountain  air  was  most  refreshing.  All  seemed 
to  breathe  freedom  and  peace,  and  to  make  one  forget  the 
world  and  its  sad  turmoils.  The  scenery  is  wild  and  yet 
not  desolate,  and  everything  looks  much  more  prosperous 
and  cultivated  than  at  Laggan.  Then  the  soil  is  delight- 
fully dry.  We  walked  beside  the  beautiful,  rapid  Dee,  which 
is  close  behind  the  house.  The  view  of  the  hills  towards 
Invercauld  is  exceedingly  fine.  When  I  came  in  at  half- 
past  six,  Albert  went  out  to  try  his  luck  with  some  stags." 
Another  day  they  had  a  deer  drive.  "Several  gillies 
were  with  us,"  wrote  the  Queen.  "They  took  us  up  a 
beautiful  path  winding  through  trees  and  heather  in  the 
Ballochbuie,  but  when  we  had  gone  about  a  mile  they 
discovered  deer.  A  '  council  of  war '  was  held  in  a  whis- 
per, and  we  turned  back  and  went  the  whole  way  down 
again  and  rode  along  to  the  keeper's  lodge,  where  we 
turned  up  the  glen  immediately^  below  Craig  Daign,  through 
a  beautiful  part  of  the  wood,  and  went  along  the  track 
till  we  came  to  the  foot  of  the  craig,  where  we  all  dismount- 
ed. We  scrambled  up  an  almost  perpendicular  place  to 
where  there  was  a  little  box  made  of  hurdles  and  inter- 
woven with  branches  of  fir  and  heather  about  five  feet 
in  height.  There  we  seated  ourselves  with  Bertie  [Prince 
of  Wales],  Macdonald  lying  in  the  heather  near  us  watch- 
ing and  quite  concealed.  Some  had  gone  round  to  beat, 
and  others,  again,  were  at  a  little  distance.  We  sat  quite 
still  and  sketched  a  little,  I  doing  the  landscape  and  some 
trees,  Albert  drawing  Macdonald  as  he  lay  there.  This 
lasted  for  nearly  on  hour,  when  Albert  fancied  he  heard  a 
distant  sound,  and  in  a  few  minutes  Macdonald  whispered 
that  he  saw  a  stag,  and  that  Albert  should  wait  and  take 
a  steady  aim.     We  then  heard  them  coming  past," 

198 


CHAPTER  VII 

STIRRING    TIMES    OF    PEACE    AND    WAR 

The  first  the  Queen  saw  of  Green  Erin  was  the  indented 
coast  about  the  harbor  of  Cork  in  August,  1849.  On  going 
on  deck  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  she  saw  bon- 
fires on  the  hills,  and  admired  the  harbor.  The  following 
day  was  gray.  The  ships  saluted.  "The  landing-place 
was  very  prettily  decorated,"  she  wrote,  "and  covered 
with  people,  and  yachts,  ships,  and  boats  crowding  all 
around.  The  two  members,  Messrs.  Roche  and  Power, 
as  well  as  other  gentlemen,  including  the  Roman  Cathohc 
and  Protestant  clergymen  and  the  members  of  the  yacht 
club,  presented  addresses;  after  which,  to  give  the  people 
the  satisfaction  of  calling  the  place  Queenstown,  in  honor 
of  its  being  the  first  spot  on  which  I  set  foot  upon  Irish 
ground,  I  stepped  on  shore,  amid  the  roar  of  cannon  and 
the  enthusiastic  shouts  of  the  people.  We  immediately 
re-embarked  and  proceeded  up  the  River  Lee  towards  Cork. 
It  is  extremely  pretty  and  richly  wooded,  and  reminded 
me  of  the  Tamar.  The  first  feature  of  interest  we  passed 
was  a  little  bathing-place  called  Monkstown,  and  later 
Blackrock  Castle,  at  which  point  we  stopped  to  receive 
a  salmon  and  a  very  pretty  address  from  the  poor  fisher- 
men of  Blackrock.  As  we  approached  the  city  we  saw 
people  streaming  in  on  foot,  on  horseback,  and  many  in 
jaunting-cars.  When  we  reached  Cork,  the  Fairy  again 
lay  alongside,  and  we  received  all  the  addresses:  first 
from  the  Mayor  and  Corporation  (I  knighted  the  Mayor 
immediately  afterwards),  then  from  the  Protestant  bishop 
and  clergy,  from  the  Roman  Catholic  bishop  and  clerg}^ 
the  Lord-Lieutenant  of  the  count}^  sheriffs,  and  others. 

199 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

The  two  judges,  who  were  holding  their  courts,  also  came 
on  board  in  their  robes.  After  all  this  was  over,  we  landed 
and  walked  some  few  paces  on  to  where  Lord  Bandon's 
carriage  was  ready  to  receive  us.  The  ladies  went  with 
us,  and  Lord  Bandon  and  the  general  rode  on  each  side  of 
the  carriage.  The  Mayor  preceded  us,  and  many  (Lord 
Listowel  among  the  number)  followed  on  horseback  or  in 
carriages.  The  I2th  Lancers  escorted  us,  and  the  pen- 
sioners and  infantry  lined  the  streets.  I  cannot  describe 
our  route,  but  it  will  suf&ce  to  say  that  it  took  two  hours, 
that  we  drove  through  the  principal  streets — twice  through 
some  of  them — that  they  were  densely  crowded,  decorated 
with  flowers  and  triumphal  arches,  that  the  heat  and  dust 
were  great,  that  we  passed  by  the  new  college  which  is  build- 
ing— one  of  the  four  which  are  ordered  by  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment— that  our  reception  was  most  enthusiastic,  and  that 
everything  went  off  to  perfection,  and  was  very  well  ar- 
ranged. Cork  is  not  at  all  like  an  English  town,  and  looks 
rather  foreign.  The  crowd  is  noisy,  excitable,  but  a  very 
good-humored  one,  running  and  pushing  about,  and 
laughing,  talking,  and  shrieking.  The  beauty  of  the 
women  is  very  remarkable,  and  struck  us  much;  such 
beautiful  dark  eyes  and  hair,  and  such  fine  teeth.  Al- 
most every  third  woman  was  pretty;  some  remarkably 
so.  They  wear  no  bonnets,  and  generally  long  blue 
cloaks.  The  men  are  very  poorly,  often  raggedly,  dressed, 
and  many  wear  blue  coats  and  short  breeches  with  blue 
stockings." 

They  went  afterwards  to  Kingstown,  where  the  Queen 
said  she  had  an  excellent  salmon  for  dinner.  "  Albert  de- 
cided on  going  to  Waterford,  ten  miles  up  the  river,  in  the 
Fairy  with  the  boys,  and  as  I  felt  giddy  and  tired,  I  pre- 
ferred remaining  quietly  on  board  sketching."  She  was 
delighted  with  the  view  of  the  Wicklow  hills  from  the  Vice- 
regal Lodge,  to  which  she  afterwards  went. 

Next  the  Queen  went  to  Carton,  the  Duke  of  Leinster's 
fine  house,  not  far  from  Dublin.  Nothing  could  be  pleas- 
anter  or  more  typical  of  the  fine  old  Irish  gentleman  than 

200 


THE    PKINCE    CONSORT    IN    THE    UNIFORM    OF    A    FIKI.U    MARSHAL 


STIRRING   TIMES   OF  PEACE  AND  WAR 

was  the  Duke  of  Leinster.  He  wore  the  often-folded  high 
white  necktie,  blue  coat  and  brass  buttons,  and  buff  waist- 
coat of  the  times  of  her  Majesty's  predecessors.  He  had 
a  smooth-shaven  face  save  for  a  little  side-whisker,  blue 
eyes,  a  straight,  full  nose,  and  the  most  charming  and 
benevolent  of  expressions.  He  was  courtesy  itself,  and 
was  a  great  lover  of  his  country,  loyal  to  the  backbone  to 
his  sovereign,  and  he  was  bitterly  disappointed  when  in 
the  sixties  he  saw  some  of  his  people  going  across  his  park 
to  join  a  silly  and  ignorant  attempt  at  insurrection. 

The  Queen  admired  the  Duke's  house  and  garden,  where 
there  were  two  bands  playing.  She  describes  it  as  a  formal 
French  garden,  with  rows  of  Irish  yews,  and  says :  "  The 
Duke  is  one  of  the  kindest  and  best  of  men.  After  luncheon 
we  walked  out  and  saw  some  of  the  country  people  dance 
jigs,  which  was  very  amusing.  The  Irish  is  quite  differ- 
ent from  the  Scottish  reel,  not  so  animated,  and  the  steps 
different,  but  very  droll.  The  people  are  very  poorly 
dressed,  the  men  in  thick  coats,  and  the  women  in  shawls, 
other  men  in  blue  coats  and  short  breeches  and  blue  stock- 
ings. There  were  three  old  pipers  playing.  The  Irish 
pipe  is  very  different  from  the  Scottish.  They  do  not  blow 
into  it,  but  merely  have  small  bellows  which  they  move 
with  the  ami.  We  walked  around  the  pleasure  grounds, 
and  after  this  got  into  a  carriage  with  the  Duke  and  Duchess, 
our  ladies  and  gentlemen  following  in  a  large  jaunting-car, 
and  the  people  riding,  running,  and  driving  with  us.  The 
Duke  is  so  kind  to  them  that  a  word  from  him  will  make 
them  do  anything.  It  was  very  hot,  and  yet  the  people 
kept  running  the  whole  way,  and  in  the  thick  woollen  coats 
which  it  seems  they  always  wear  here."  \ 

The  Queen  was  sorry  to  leave  Dublin,  and  always  re-^ 
membered  her  first  reception  at  the  capital  of  Ireland  with 
the  greatest  pleasure,  looking  forward  to  visiting  it  again. 
"We  stood,"  she  says,  "on  the  paddle-box,  as  we  slowly/ 
steamed  out  of  Queenstown  amid  the  cheers  of  thousand.^ 
and  thousands,  and  salutes  from  all  the  ships.  I  waved  mv 
handkerchief  as  a  parting  acknowledgment  of  their  loyalty.  '| 

20T 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

The  experience  of  the  voyage  northward  to  Belfast  wasl 
unfortunately  not  a  pleasant  one.  "  The  weather  got  worse  \ 
land  worse,"  she  says,  "and  blew  a  real  gale.  Though  \ 
kve  had  only  two  minutes'  row  in  the  barge  to  go  on  board  \ 
the  Fairy,  there  was  such  a  swell  at  the  getting  in  and  out, 
and  the  rolling  and  tossing  of  the  boat  were  very  disagree- 
able. We  had  to  keep  in  a  little  pavilion,  as  the  squalls 
were  so  violent  as  to  cover  the  Fairy  with  spray.  As  we 
reached  Belfast  the  sun  fortunately  came  out.  A  very 
fine  landing  -  place  was  arranged,  where  thousands  were 
assembled.  Lord  Londonderry  came  on  board,  and  nu- 
merous deputations  with  addresses,  including  the  Mayor, 
whom  I  knighted,  and  Lady  Londonderry  and  her 
daughter  also  came  on  board.  We  got  into  their  car- 
riage. Lord  Londonderry  himself  on  the  rumble  behind 
with  two  sergeant  footmen,  Renwick  and  Birbage,  both 
very  tall,  large  men,  and  the  three  must  have  been 
far  from  comfortable.  The  town  was  beautifully  dec- 
orated with  flowers,  hangings,  and  fine  triumphal  arches. 
The  galleries  full  of  people,  and  the  reception  very 
hearty. 

"  I  have  all  along  forgotten  to  say  that  the  favorite  motto 
written  up  on  most  of  the  arches,  and  in  every  place  was, 
'  Ceade  mille  failte,'  which  means  a  hundred  thousand 
welcomes  in  Irish,  which  is  very  like  Gaelic. 

"  We  passed  through  several  of  the  streets,  and  returned 
to  the  place  of  embarkation.  Belfast  is  a  fine  town  with 
some  good  buildings;  for  instance,  the  Bank  and  Ex- 
change. It  is  considered  the  Liverpool  and  Manchester  of 
Ireland.  The  constabulary  are  a  remarkably  fine  body  of 
men,  thirteen  thousand  in  number  altogether  in  Ireland,  all 
Irish  and  chiefly  Roman  Catholic.  We  left  amid  immense 
cheering,  and  reached  the  Victoria  and  Albert  at  half-past 
six.  Many  bonfires  were  lighted  on  the  surrounding  hills 
and  coast.  I  intend  to  create  Bertie  Earl  of  Dublin  as  a 
compliment  to  the  town  and  country,  though  he  is  born 
with  several  Scotch  ones  (belonging  to  the  heirs  to  the 
Scottish  throne,  which  he  has  inherited  from  James  VI. 

202 


STIRRING  TIMES   OF    PEACE  AND  WAR 

of  Scotland  and  I.  of  England),  and  this  was  one  of  my 
father's  titles." 

In  after-times  the  Queen  had  another  opportunity  of 
gratifying  her  wish  that  a  son  should  be  associated  with 
the  sister  kingdom  by  conferring  upon  Prince  Arthur  the 
title  of  Duke  of  Connaught ;  and,  as  a  visit  to  Ireland  was 
among  the  first  of  her  public  progresses,  as  a  ceremonial 
journey  would  have  been  called  in  Elizabeth's  time,  so  also 
the  very  last  was  to  that  land  whose  gallant  soldiers  had 
proved  their  devotion  on  the  Vaal  and  the  Tugela.  Again, 
and  for  the  last  time,  the  cheers  of  Irishmen  on  Irish  soil 
gladdened  her  heart,  and  the  reception  given  to  her  light- 
ened the  load  of  State  cares  and  the  anxieties  and  the  sor- 
rows of  the  last  year  of  her  reign. 

We  must  now  speak  of  the  Great  Exhibition  of  1851, 
the  preparations  for  which  largely  occupied  the  Queen's 
attention  throughout  the  preceding  year. 

The  Crystal  Palace  was  Prince  Albert's  idea.  Eng- 
lislimen  had  not  been  too  well  disposed  to  some  of  the 
useful  plans  he  had  proposed  for  the  improvement  of  their 
work  in  arts  and  crafts.  Taste  was  at  a  very  low  ebb, 
and  the  st3^1e  now  called  "Early  Victorian"  is  not  one 
that  one  can  desire  to  be  followed  in  dress,  ornament,  design, 
or  any  production  requiring  beauty  as  well  as  solidity. 
We  had  much  to  learn  from  our  neighbors.  But  we  showed 
the  greatest  jealousy  and  dislike  of  anything  that  os- 
tensibly came  from  any  foreign-born  prince  residing  among 
ourselves.  So,  when  the  plan  was  first  mentioned  that 
foreigners  should  be  invited  to  show  their  goods  along 
with  our  own,  there  was  a  cry  that  it  would  not  be  good 
for  our  trade,  and  the  residents  of  Knightsbridge  declared 
that  they  would  not  have  a  big  conservatory  placed  be- 
tween themselves  and  their  view  of  the  serpentine  water. 
So  it  was  resolved  that  the  building  should  only  be  placed 
there  for  one  short  summer  season.  But  it  was  to  be  a 
splendid  thing. 

The  man  who  assisted  Prince  Albert  the  most  in  regard 
to  the  building  was  Paxton,  who  was  knighted,  and  be- 

203 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

came  Sir  Joseph.  He  had  been  a  gardener's  bo}',  and 
had  attracted  the  notice  of  the  Duke  of  Devonshire  when 
working  in  his  gardens  at  Chiswick,  tying  up  a  peach- 
tree.  The  Duke  hked  the  looks  of  the  lad,  and  asked  him 
about  his  home  and  family,  and  was  struck  with  his  man- 
ner and  promoted  him.  Paxton  lost  no  chance,  and  from 
his  knowledge  of  the  great  conservatories  at  Kew  and 
Chatsworth,  proposed  an  enlarged  edition  of  such  a  build-. 

(ing  for  the  Great  Exhibition.  The  idea  was  adopted, 
and  an  immense  greenhouse,  which  received  the  name 
of  the  Crystal  Palace,  rose  from  the  grass  of  the  Park.       ' 

It  was  nearly  one  thousand  feet  long  and  nearly  seventy 
feet  high,  with  a  high  transept  of  over  one  hundred  feet  in 
height.  Here  was  held  the  huge  Fair,  an  old  English 
word,  always  used  in  the  colonies  for  show^s  of  all  kinds, 
when  provinces  or  states  desire  to  prove  their  wealth,  and 
compare  themselves  with  their  neighbors,  or  with  those  of 
other  lands  far  away,  to  bargain  and  make  sales.  The 
aspect  of  the  gigantic  glass  house  was  beautiful.  The 
iron  framework  that  supported  the  light  galleries  and  roof 
and  the  columned  vistas  was  painted  a  cobalt  blue.  The 
hangings  were  mostly  of  scarlet.  Fountains  played  in 
the  nave,  which  was  bright  with  white  statuary,  colored 
porcelains,  rich  stuffs,  and  beyond  all  loomed  up  a  great 
elm-tree  in  full  foliage,  included  under  the  dazzling  roof, 
while  the  crowds,  delighted  with  the  novelty  of  the  whole 
scene,  thronged  the  clean  pine-wood  floor. 

The  result  was  not  achieved  without  the  necessity  to 
combat  many  prejudices,  many  misunderstandings,  and 
many  fears  of  a  most  unnecessary  character. 

"Just  at  present,"  the  Prince  said,  "I  am  more  dead 
than  alive,  from  overwork.  The  opponents  of  the  Ex- 
hibition work  with  might  and  main  to  throw  all  the  old 
women  into  a  panic  and  to  drive  myself  crazy.  The 
strangers,  they  give  out,  are  certain  to  commence  a 
thorough  revolution  here,  to  murder  Victoria  and  myself, 
to  proclaim  the  Red  Republic  in  England.  The  plague 
is  certain  to  ensue  from  the  confluence  of  such  vast  mul- 

204 


STIRRING   TIMES   OF    PEACE  AND  WAR 

titudes,  and  to  swallow  up  those  whom  the  increased  price 
of  everything  has  not  already  swept  away.  For  all  this 
I  am  to  be  responsible,  and  against  all  this  I  have  to  make 
efficient  provision!" 

But  the  Queen  had  no  fears  of  the  kind,  and  delighted 
to  see  the  progress  made  with  the  beautiful  building  which 
rose  steadily — the  blue  painted  iron  shafts,  with  their 
transparent  interspaces,  growing  higher  and  higher,  and 
the  long  arched  roof  of  ribbed  glass  in  the  centre  giving 
back  in  ever  fuller  and  fuller  volumes  the  rays  of  the  sun. 
Long  lines  of  banners  floated  along  the  roofs.  She  watched 
this  as  she  drove  in  Hyde  Park,  and  was  proud  of  it  as 
mainly  the  work  of  her  husband.  Meantime,  thousands 
of  packing-cases  were  being  carted  from  the  end  of  every 
railway  line  in  London  in  great  wagons,  and  were  being 
unpacked  after  being  carried  inside  the  big  glass  house. 

At  last  everything  was  so  far  arranged  as  to  allow  of  the 
private  inspection  of  what  had  been  done.  "We remained 
two  hours  and  a  half,"  said  the  Queen,  "and  I  came  back 
quite  beaten,  and  my  head  bewildered,  from  the  myriads  of 
beautiful  and  wonderful  things  which  now  quite  dazzle 
one's  eyes.  Such  efforts  have  been  made,  and  our  people 
have  shown  such  taste  in  their  manufactures!  All  owing 
to  this  Great  Exhibition  and  to  Albert — all  to  him! 

"  We  went  up  into  the  gallery,  and  the  sight  from  there 
of  the  numerous  courts  full  of  all  sorts  of  objects  of  art, 
manufacture,  etc.,  was  quite  marvellous.  The  noise  was 
overpowering,  for  so  much  was  going  on  everywhere,  and 
from  twelve  thousand  to  twenty  thousand  people  were  en- 
gaged in  arranging  all  sorts  of  things.  My  poor  Albert 
is  terribly  fagged.  All  day  long  some  question  or  other, 
some  little  difficulty  or  hitch,  all  of  which  he  took  with  the 
greatest  quiet  and  good  temper.  Great  as  is  his  triumph, 
he  never  says  a  word  about  it,  but  labors  to  the  last,  feel- 
ing quietly  satisfied  in  the  country's  glory,  and  in  having 
gone  on  steadily  in  spite  of  the  immense  difficulties  and 
opposition." 

Although  there  was  nothing  to  justify  the  idea  that 

205 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

bands  of  foreigners  had  come  only  to  make  a  disturbance 
— or,  still  less,  that  any  disorder  would  have  been  tolerated 
by  the  English  multitude — the  most  unaccountable  amount 
of  anxiety  in  reference  to  what  might  happen  continued. 
But  the  1st  of  May,  1851,  came  and  went,  to  add  a  perfect 
triumph  to  the  country's  previous  displays  of  the  self- 
government  of  the  British  people. 

The  Queen  in  her  diary  said:  "The  great  event  has 
taken  place.  A  complete  and  beautiful  triumph,  and  a 
glorious  and  touching  sight;  one  which  I  shall  ever  be 
proud  of  for  my  beloved  Albert  and  my  country.  Yes, 
it  is  a  day  which  makes  my  heart  swell  with  pride  and 
glory  and  thankfulness.  We  began  it  with  the  tenderest 
greetings  for  the  birthday  of  our  dear  little  Arthur.  At 
breakfast  there  was  nothing  but  congratulations.  Mamma 
and  Victor  were  there,  and  all  the  children  and  our  guests. 
Our  humble  gifts  of  toys  were  added  to  by  a  beautiful  little 
bronze  replica  of  the  Amazon  statue  at  Berlin  from  the 
Prince  of  Prussia,  a  beautiful  paper-knife  from  the  Princess, 
and  a  nice  little  clock  from  mamma. 

"The  Park  presented  a  wonderful  spectacle  —  crowds 
streaming  through  it,  carriages  and  troops  passing,  quite 
like  the  Coronation  Day.  And  for  me  the  same  anxiety — 
no,  much  greater  anxiety,  on  account  of  my  beloved  Albert. 

"The  day  was  bright,  and  all  bustle  and  excitement. 
At  half-past  eleven  the  whole  procession  in  State  carriages 
was  in  motion.  The  Green  Park  and  H^^de  Park  were  one 
densely  crowded  mass  of  human  beings,  in  the  highest 
good-humor  and  most  enthusiastic.  I  never  saw  Hyde 
Park  look  as  it  did — people  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach. 

"  A  little  rain  fell  just  as  we  started,  but  before  we  came 
near  the  Crystal  Palace  the  sun  shone  and  gleamed  upon 
the  gigantic  edifice,  upon  which  the  flags  of  all  the  nations 
were  floating.  We  drove  up  Rotten  Row,  and  got  out  at 
the  entrance  on  that  side.  The  glimpse  of  the  transept 
through  the  iron  gates,  the  waving  palms,  the  flowers, 
statues,  myriads  of  people  filling  the  galleries  and  seats 
around,  and  the  flouri.sh  of  trumpets  as  we  entered,  gave 

206 


STIRRING    TIMES   OF    PEACE  AND  WAR 

U.S  a  sensation  which  I  can  never  forget,  and  I  felt  much 
moved.  We  went  for  a  moment  to  a  Httle  side  room,  where 
we  left  our  shawls,  and  where  we  found  mamma  and  Mary 
[Duchess  of  Teck],  and  outside  which  were  standing  the 
other  princes. 

"In  a  few  seconds  we  proceeded,  Albert  leading  me, 
having  Vicky  at  his  hand,  and  Bertie  holding  mine.  The 
sight  as  we  came  to  the  middle,  where  the  steps  and  chair, 
which  I  did  not  sit  on,  were  placed,  and  the  beautiful  crystal 
fountain  just  in  front  of  it,  was  magical — so  vast,  so  glo- 
rious, so  touching.  One  felt,  as  so  manj^  did  who  I  have 
since  spoken  to,  filled  with  devotion,  more  so  than  by  any 
service  I  have  ever  heard. 

"  The  tremendous  cheers,  the  joy  expressed  in  every  face, 
the  immensity  of  the  building,  the  mixture  of  palms,  flow- 
ers, trees,  statues,  fountains ;  the  organs,  with  two  hundred 
instruments  and  six  hundred  voices,  which  sounded  like 
nothing,  and  my  beloved  husband,  the  author  of  this 
peace  festival  which  united  the  industry  of  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth — all  this  was  moving  indeed,  and  it  was,  and 
is,  a  day  to  live  forever.  God  bless  my  dearest  Albert! 
God  bless  my  dearest  countrj^,  which  has  shown  itself  so 
great  to-day!  One  felt  so  grateful  to  the  great  God,  who 
seemed  to  pervade  all  and  to  bless  all. 

"The  only  event  it  in  the  slightest  degree  reminded 
me  of  was  the  Coronation ;  but  this  day's  festival  was  a 
thousand  times  superior — in  fact,  it  is  unique.  The  en- 
thusiasm and  cheering,  too,  were  much  more  touching, 
for  in  a  church  naturally  all  is  silent. 

"Albert  left  my  side  after  'God  save  the  Queen'  had 
been  sung,  and  at  the  head  of  the  commissioners — a  curi- 
ous assemblage  of  political  and  distinguished  men — 
read  me  the  report,  which  is  a  long  one,  and  to  which  I 
read  a  short  answer,  after  which  the  Archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury offered  up  prayer,  followed  by  the  'Hallelujah 
Chorus,'  during  which  the  Chinese  mandarin  came  for- 
ward and  made  his  obeisance. 

"This  concluded,  the  procession  began.     It  was  beauti- 

207 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

fully  arranged  and  of  great  length,  the  prescribed  order 
being  exactly  adhered  to.  The  nave  was  full,  which  had 
not  been  intended,  but  still  there  was  no  difficulty,  and  the 
whole  long  walk  from  one  end  to  the  other  was  made  in 
the  midst  of  continued  and  deafening  cheers  and  waving 
of  handkerchiefs.  Every  one's  face  was  bright  and  smil- 
ing, many  with  tears  in  their  eyes.  Many  Frenchmen 
called  out,  'Vive  la  Reine!' 

"The  return  was  equally  satisfactory;  the  crowd  most 
enthusiastic,  the  order  perfect.  We  reached  the  palace  at 
twenty  minutes  past  one,  and  went  out  on  the  balcony 
and  were  loudly  cheered. 

"  That  I  felt  happy  and  thankful,  I  need  not  say ;  proud 
of  all  that  had  passed,  of  my  darling  husband's  success, 
and  of  the  behavior  of  my  good  people.  I  was  more  im- 
pressed than  I  could  say  by  the  scene ;  it  was  one  that  will 
never  be  effaced  from  my  memory,  and  never  will  be  from 
that  of  any  one  who  witnessed  it.  Albert's  name  is  im- 
mortalized, and  wicked  and  absurd  reports  of  danger  of 
every  kind  which  a  set  of  people,  soi  disant  fashionables 
and  the  most  violent  protectionists,  spread  are  silenced." 

Lord  Palmerston  wrote  to  Lord  Normanby:  "Yester- 
day is  a  topic  of  thought  and  of  words  with  everybody  in 
London.  It  was  indeed  a  glorious  day  for  England,  and 
the  way  in  which  the  royal  ceremony  went  off  was  calculat- 
ed to  inspire  humility  in  the  minds  of  the  representatives 
of  foreign  governments,  and  to  strike  despair  into  the 
breasts  of  those,  if  any  such  there  be,  who  may  desire  to 
excite  confusion  in  this  country. 

"  There  must  have  been  nearer  a  million  than  any  other 
number  of  people  who  turned  out  to  post  them.selves  as  they 
could  to  see  some  parts  of  the  show,  and  Mayne,  the  head 
of  the  police,  said  he  thought  there  were  about  thirty-four 
thousand  in  the  glass  building. 

"  The  Queen,  her  husband,  her  eldest  son  and  daughter 
gave  themselves  in  full  confidence  to  this  multitude,  with  no 
other  guard  than  one  of  honor  and  the  accustomed  supply 
of  stick-handed  constables  to  assist  the  crowd  in  keeping 

208 


THE    PKINCE    OF    WALES    AND    PRINCE    ALFRED    IN    1849 


STIRRING   TIMES    OF    PEACE   AND  WAR 

order  among  themselves.  Of  course  there  were  in  re- 
serve, at  proper  stations,  ample  means  of  repressing  any 
disorder  if  any  had  been  attempted;  but  nothing  was 
brought  out  and  shown  beyond  what  I  have  mentioned, 
and  it  was  impossible  for  the  invited  guests  of  a  lady's 
Drawing-room  to  have  conducted  themselves  with  more 
perfect  propriety  than  did  this  sea  of  human  beings. 

"  The  royal  party  were  received  with  continued  acclama- 
tion as  they  passed  through  the  Park  and  round  the  Ex- 
hibition house,  and  it  was  also  very  interesting  to  witness 
the  cordial  greeting  given  to  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  I 
was  just  behind  him  and  Anglesey,  during  the  procession 
round  the  building,  and  he  was  accompanied  by  an  in- 
cessant running  fire  of  applause  from  the  men,  and  waving 
of  handkerchiefs  and  kissing  of  hands  from  the  women, 
who  lined  the  pathway  of  the  march  during  the  three-quar- 
ters of  an  hour  that  it  took  us  to  march  round.  The  build- 
ing itself  is  far  more  worth  seeing  than  anything  in  it. 
How  many  of  its  contents  are  worth  admiration?" 

Six  million  people  are  said  to  have  visited  the  fair. 
Among  others  the  Queen  notes  "  a  most  hale  old  woman 
who  had  walked  all  the  way  from  Cornwall,  and  who  was 
near  crying  on  my  looking  at  her." 

There  is  no  doubt  that  from  this  time  dated  a  great  im-    \ 
provement  in  art,  which  is  very  palpable  as  we  examine  the     \ 
earlier  and  later  productions  of  the  reign.     Dinginess,  the      ! 
absence  of  due  proportion,  heaviness  of  design,  garish-       \ 
ness  of  color,  all  marked  the  earlier  time.     The  bringing       ' 
together    of    French,    German,    and    Italian,    and    other 
European  works  of  art,  showed  us  where  w^e  were  behind- 
hand ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  we  compared  very  favor- 
ably with  foreigners  in  all  the  heavier  and  more  durable 
products,  especially  machinery.     In  the  making  of  china, 
too.  Stoke  was  soon  shown  to  be  by  no  means  inferior  to 
Dresden  and  Sevres. 

The  colonies  all  made  a  fine  .show  at  the  Exhibition, 
chiefly  of  raw  material.     IVIalachite  worthy  of  Russia  was 
exhibited  from  South   Australia.     Enormous  masses  of 
o  209 


I 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

\  gold  came  from  Australia,  splendid  iron  from  New  Zealand, 
1  and  plumbago  or  black  lead,  iron  ores,  coal,  wheat,  and 
\^fur  from  Canada. 

As  everybody  was  naturally  anxious  to  make  the  most 
of  the  opportunity,  the  Queen  had  to  meet  about  three 
hundred  exhibitors  one  morning,  all  of  whom  were  desirous 
to  display  their  wares.     She  went  through  all  the  depart- 
ments of  the  south  and  northwestern  galleries  in  detail. 
The  excitement  among  the  exhibitors   was  very  great, 
and  one  of  them  actually  fainted.     The  kindness  with 
which  her  Majesty  conversed  with  those  whose  produc- 
tions interested  her  pleased  them  greatly. 
I     One  of  the  greatest  achievements  in  mechanics  was  the 
iNasmyth  steam-hammer.     It  was  five  tons  in  weight,  and 
tvhen  raised  came  down  with  tremendous  force,  but  was 
levertheless  so  perfectly  under  control  that  the  workmen 
vere  in  the  habit  of  putting  a  nut  under  the  hammer, 
ind  cracking  it  without  injuring  the  kernel.     It  is  only 
juite  lately  that  any  other  means   have  been  found  to 
^ive  the   necessary   power,    and    it    may   be    said   that 
lalf   the   mechanical    triumphs    of    the    engineers   could 
not  have  been  carried  out  without  this  engine  of  force, 
which  was  so  admired  for  the  first  time  by  the  general 
pubhc  in  1851. 

The  Queen  and  Prince  bought  many  beautiful  works 
n  painting  and  sculpture,  as  well  as  in  furniture.  It  is 
urious  to  note  the  commencement  of  modern  inventions, 
ne  having  been  a  submarine  boat,  the  precursor  of  those 
hich  in  America  and  France  are  now  awakening  so  much 
uriosity  and  attention.  This  one  was  driven  by  a  screw 
bropeller;  its  shape  was  that  of  a  broad-backed  carp,  and 
the  inventor  said  that  it  would  sink  under  water,  swim  any 
jiistance,  and  rise  again  at  the  will  of  a  crew  bold  enough 
to  trust  themselves  in  this  moving  diving-bell.  The  in- 
ventor naturally  did  not  wish  to  say  too  much  about  his 
\iplan,  but  it  recalled  the  fact  that  a  certain  smuggler,  named 
\Captain  Johnson,  had  planned  to  rescue  Napoleon  Bona- 
arte  from  St.  Helena  by  the  aid  of  a  submarine  boat,  and 

210 


STIRRING   TIMES    OF   PEACE  AND  WAR 

was  only  prevented  from  making  the  experiment  by  the 
death  of  the  captive. 

A  costume  ball  given  at  Buckingham  Palace  later  in  the 
year  greatly  occupied  the  minds  of  those  who  received  in- 
vitations. It  was  a  ball  intended  to  give  impetus  to  the 
trade  of  London,  and  was  descriptive  of  the  time  of  the 
Stuarts.  It  is  chronicled  that  Mrs.  Burdett-Coutts  was 
one  of  the  earliest  arrivals,  wearing  a  broad  band  of  em- 
eralds and  diamonds,  after  the  manner  of  a  gentleman's 
baldric,  over  the  right  shoulder  to  the  left  hip. 

The  Queen  and  Prince  were  seated  in  the  throne-room 
when  the  company  entered  and  made  their  bow.  The 
guests  walked  in  procession  up  the  whole  length  of  the 
room,  made  obeisance  before  the  throne,  and  passed  into  the 
picture  gallery.  Lord  Clifden,  then  Leopold  Ellis,  her- 
ald-at-anns,  followed  by  four  pages  of  four  national  qua- 
drilles— Lord  Vaughan,  Mr.  Seymour  Egerton,  Lord  Rich- 
ard Grosvenor,  and  Mr.  Eraser — entered,  and  joined  the 
national  quadrilles  assembled  in  the  next  room.  The 
orchestra  then  played  a  march,  and  a  Spanish  quadrille 
entered,  preceded  by  their  page.  Then  came  the  French, 
the  Scotch,  and  the  English,  who  first  danced  together, 
the  others  after  them.  They  then  fonned  up  in  line  and 
made  their  reverence. 

The  Queen  and  Prince  now  went  to  the  ballroom,  where 
another  quadrille  preceded  a  polonaise  or  walk  round  the 
room,  the  Queen  dancing  with  the  Prince,  the  Duke  of 
Cambridge,  and  Prince  Edward  of  Saxe- Weimar.  The 
waving  feathers,  flowing  curls,  slashed  sleeves  and  ruffles, 
picturesque  baldrics,  and  bright  coats,  made  a  very  pretty 
scene. 

At  12.15  Lord  Westminster,  the  Lord  Steward,  showed 
the  way  to  the  State  supper.  Dancing  again  took  place 
afterwards,  a  Highland  reel  being  danced  by  the  Scottish 
ladies  and  gentlemen. 

The  Queen  wore  a  gray  watered  silk  trimmed  with 
gold  and  silver  lace,  with  bows  of  rose-colored  ribbons 
fastened  by  bunches  of  diamonds.     The  front  of  the  dress 

211 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

opened ;  underskirt,  cloth  of  gold  and  silver  fringe.  Shoes 
and  gloves  embroidered  with  roses  and  fieurs-de-lis  in  gold. 
On  the  front  of  the  dress  large  pear-shaped  emeralds ;  head- 
dress, small  diamond  crown  and  emeralds,  her  hair  plaited 
with  pearls. 

Prince  Consort  wore  a  rich  orange  coat,  sleeves  turned 
up  with  crimson  velvet,  pink  epaulette  on  shoulder,  bal- 
dric in  silver;  breeches,  crimson  velvet,  pink  satin  bows, 
and  gold  lace;  stockings,  lavender  silk.  These  dresses 
were  all  of  British  manufacture.  Hat  with  white  ostrich 
feathers  around. 

The  Duke  of  Wellington's  costume  was  that  of  a  gen- 
eral of  the  period  of  the  restoration  of  Charles  II.  Scarlet 
cloth  frock  coat,  double  rows  of  gold  lace,  white  satin 
slashed  sleeves,  lace  of  gold,  point  lace  collar  and  ruffles, 
blue  velvet  trunks,  broad  gold  lace  seams  slashed  with 
white  satin,  point  lace  at  knees  (which  at  this  time  were 
sadly  bent),  crimson  silk  sash,  gold  tassels,  gold  sword- 
belt.  Order  of  the  Garter,  bows  of  point  lace,  hat  with  white 
and  blue  plumes,  and  the  collar  of  the  Golden  Fleece.  He 
did  not  wear  the  long  curls  of  the  time,  appearing  only  in 
I  his  own  gray  hairs. 

j  By  the  irony  of  fate,  the  year  in  which  all  nations  were 
i  invited  to  join  in  the  peaceful  rivalries  of  art  and  science 
I  in  Hyde  Park  saw  discord  in  the  goverrmient  at  home, 
I  owing  to  the  events  in  France,  where  Louis  Napoleon  had 
'  determined,  at  all  costs,  to  make  himself  Emperor  of  the 
'  French. 

The  lady  who  was  to  share  his  throne  for  eighteen  years, 

Madame  Eugenie  de  Montijo,  had  been,  in  July,  1851, 

the  much-admired  guest  at  one  of   Lady  Palmerston's 

parties  at  Cambridge  House,  Piccadilly,  now  the  Naval 

and  Military  Club.      She  was,  as  Malmesbury  noted  in 

his  journal,  very  handsome,  a  beautiful  skin  and  figure. 

;    Her  grandmother  was  Scotch,  a  Mrs.  Kirkpatrick,  which 

1   accounted  for  her  lovely  complexion  and  the  auburn  light 

1  in  her  hair. 

;      Louis  Napoleon  had  been  so  much  in  England  himself 

212 


PRINCE    ALBERT    IN    IS5I 


STIRRING   TIMES   OF    PEACE  AND  WAR 

that  he  thoroughly  knew  the  strength  of  this  country,  and 
within  two  years'  time  of  his  destroying  the  Presidency 
he  was  our  ally  against  Russia.  He  had  determined 
on  the  famous  "stroke  of  State,"  or  coup  d'etat,  an  event 
which  found  in  England  few  sympathizers,  although,  as 
was  afterwards  proved,  it  brought  to  England  the  official 
friendship  of  the  French  government,  of  which  he  became 
the  autocratic  ruler. 

The  London  season  saw  a  State  visit  to  the  Guildhall 
in  July,  1 85 1,  a  ball  and  supper  being  given.  Malmes- 
bury  says:  "1  hear  that  the  people  were  very  ridiculous 
at  the  dance  last  night.  Some  ladies  passed  by  the  Queen 
at  a  run,  never  courtesying  at  all,  and  then  returning  to 
stare  at  her.  Some  of  the  gentlemen  passed  with  their 
arms  round  the  ladies'  waists,  others  holding  them  by  the 
hand  and  at  arm's-length,  as  if  they  were  going  to  dance  a 
minuet.  One  man  kissed  his  hand  to  the  Queen  as  he 
went  by,  which  sent  her  Majesty  off  into  a  fit  of  laughter." 

The  Queen  greatly  admired  the  fine  room.  Indeed,  the 
great  banquets  in  the  ancient  halls  of  the  City  companies, 
with  their  panelling  of  oak,  their  decorated  galleries,  their 
open  roof,  and  the  fine  old  silver  plate  belonging  to  many 
of  them,  together  with  their  lavish  hospitality  and  ample 
recognition  given  so  generously  to  the  claims  of  charity, 
form  a  pleasant  survival  of  the  old  days.  England's  old 
custom  of  the  passing  of  the  loving-cup,  seen  nowhere  else, 
still  survives  at  these  gatherings,  where  formerly — al- 
though not  so  frequently  now — old  English  songs  fitted 
to  the  feast  might  also  be  heard. 

One  of  the  greatest  of  the  provincial  municipalities,  that 
of  Manchester,  was  also  visited  by  the  Queen  and  Prince 
Albert  in  1 85 1,  after  seeing  Liverpool,  where  they  viewed  \ 
from  the  water  the  line  of  docks  and  the  St.  George's  Hall,  ' 
which  was  not  finished.  They  stayed  at  Worsley  Hall, 
and  thence  went  in  a  barge  along  the  famous  Bridgwater 
Canal,  the  boats  of  the  Manchester  and  Salford  regatta 
clubs  following,  and  the  banks  being  crowded  with  people. 
At  Peel  Park,  Salford 's  Mayor  (Sir  Thomas  Agnew)  re- 

213 


\ 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

ceived  them,  and  eighty-two  thousand  children  from  the 
twin  cities  sang  the  national  anthem.  Towards  the  close 
of  the  hymn  the  Queen  arrived  at  the  centre  of  the  or- 
chestra, and  was  visible  to  the  whole  of  this  vast  and 
youthful  crowd. 

Manchester  was  entered  under  the  Victoria  Bridge,  and 
Mr.  John  Potter,  in  his  mayoral  robes,  received  the  Queen. 
The  Queen  was  presented  with  an  address,  which,  after 
complimenting  her  on  the  moral  influence  of  her  private 
virtues,  proceeded  to  acknowledge  the  blessings  which, 
under  Divine  Providence,  had  attended  the  public  policy 
which,  with  her  Majesty's  willing  sanction  and  approval, 
had  been  steadily  pursued  during  the  whole  of  her  Idc- 
neficent  reign.  "The  effect  of  that  policy,"  it  went  on 
to  state,  "based  on  the  full  and  enlightened  recognition 
of  a  wisely  regulated  freedom,  was  strikingly  manifest  in 
the  generally  flourishing  condition  of  the  realm  and  the 
increased  content  and  happiness  of  her  Majesty's  people. 
We  believe,"  it  added,  "  that  our  country  now  enjoys  more 
abundant  elements  of  social  welfare  and  of  national  pros- 
perity and  strength  than  at  any  former  epoch  of  its  his- 
tory ;  demonstrating  that  the  free  institutions  under  which 
we  live,  and  the  free  commercial  policj^  which,  under  your 
Majesty's  wise  and  benign  auspices,  has  been  recently 
consolidated  in  your  Majesty's  dominions,  and  are  the 
surest  means  of  promoting  the  firmest  foundations  on 
which  can  rest  the  progressive  happiness,  peace,  and  pros- 
perity of  nations." 

The  Queen  read  her  reply  in  a  clear  and  ringing  voice, 
which  was  heard  all  over  the  hall  of  the  Exchange,  in 
which  the  ceremony  took  place.  "I  rejoice  to  have  been 
enabled,"  she  said,  "to  visit  your  borough — the  capital 
of  one  of  the  most  important  branches  of  industry  car- 
ried on  in  my  dominions;  and  I  have  derived  the  highest 
gratification  from  the  favorable  account  you  are  enabled 
to  give  me  of  the  condition  of  my  people,  with  which,  in 
this  large  manufacturing  district,  you  must  be  intimately 
acquainted." 

214 


STIRRING   TIMES   OF    PEACE  AND  WAR 

In  1852,  when  an  Empire  of  France  was  being  created 
for  the  second  time,  the  great  soldier  antagonist  of  the 
first  Emperor  died. 

WelHngton  had  been  able  to  pursue  a  wonderfully  ac- 
tive life  at  his  age  of  eighty,  but  the  "Iron  Duke"  sud- 
denly found  liis  strength  failing  him,  and  he  died  peace- 
fully in  his  arm-chair  at  Walmer.  The  body  was  taken 
to  London,  and  lay  in  State  at  Chelsea  Hospital.  The  long 
hall  was  darkened,  and  was  hung  with  black  cloth,  re- 
lieved only  by  the  banners  on  the  walls — trophies  of  the 
battles  of  the  dead.  Guardsmen,  leaning  on  the  stocks 
of  their  muskets,  the  muzzles  resting  on  the  floor,  stood 
at  short  distances  apart  on  each  side  of  the  central  pas- 
sage. The  bier  and  coffin,  covered  with  the  insignia  of 
the  orders  he  had  won,  with  the  "batons  eight  of  high 
command" — for  Wellington  was  a  Field  Marshal  in  the 
army  lists  of  eight  armies,  seven  of  these  giving  him  this 
honorary  rank  in  foreign  hosts  allied  in  war  with  our- 
selves— all  these,  with  the  cocked  hat  and  sword,  were 
seen  on  the  coffin.  Around  it  large  candles  shone,  and 
officers  in  scarlet  and  steel  guarded  their  lost  commander. 

The  funeral  procession  from  Chelsea  to  St.  Paul's  was 
a  splendid  national  tribute  to  the  leader  who  never  lost 
an  English  gun,  and  had  taken  more  from  the  enemy 
with  fewer  men  than  had  any  soldier  of  his  time.  The 
towering  bronze  car  on  which  the  coffin  was  placed  was 
adorned  with  dazzling  trophies  of  arms.  Representative 
detachments  of  every  available  regiment  in  our  armies 
followed  where  the  Field  Manshal's  charger,  with  empty 
saddle,  was  led.  The  roll  of  the  muffled  drums  incessantly 
accompanied  the  solemn  march  of  the  immense  proces- 
sion, until  the  final  ceremony  left  the  old  hero  sleeping 
in  St.  Paul's. 

"  Yes,  let  the  feet  of  those  he  fought  for. 
And  the  voice  of  those  he  wrought  for. 
Echo  round  his  bones  forever  more," 

as  Tennyson  sang  in  an  ode  that  spoke  in  melody  from 

215 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

a  heart  resolved  to  do  all  that  pen  could  accomplish  to 
keep  his  countrymen  alive  to  the  lessons  given  by  Well- 
ington, that  England  must  never  allow  her  "cannon  to 
moulder  on  the  seaward  wall." 

Very  soon  there  were  clouds  in  the  East,  and  the  Em- 
peror Nicholas,  who  had  been  such  a  favorite  in  Eng- 
land when  he  came  to  see  the  Queen,  and  towered  in  mag- 
nificent stature  over  all  the  Court,  was,  as  the  business 
I  Englishman  said,  "at  a  discount,"  because  he  was  sup- 
/  posed  to  desire  to  have  Constantinople  for  himself  and 
destroy  what  was  called  "the  balance  of  power  in  Eu- 
rope." The  quarrel  had  begun  about  the  holy  places  in 
Jerusalem,  and  is  too  intricate  to  do  more  than  to  be  in- 
dicated here.  But  the  discussion  became  dangerous,  and 
Russia  threatened.  English  officers  were  allowed  to  as- 
sist the  garrisons  of  Danubian  frontier  towns,  like  Silis- 
tria,  in  case  they  were  attacked. 
\  The  main  mover  in  the  British  Cabinet  against  Rus- 
Isian  aggression  was  Palmerston.  Russia  moved  on.  It 
was  not  with  her  now,  she  said,  a  question  of  influence 
^at  the  holy  places.  She  must  have  a  protectorate  to 
shield  Turkish  subjects  who  professed  the  orthodox 
faith.  The  Whig  government  did  not  wish  for  war;  it  was 
said  afterwards  they  drifted  into  it.  Palmerston  alone 
was  hearty  and  confident  in  his  determination  to  check 
Russia  by  war.  There  was  a  good  deal  of  dissension  in 
the  Cabinet.  On  one  occasion  he  angrily  declared  aloud 
that  he  "  would  not  be  dragged  through  the  mud  by  Johnny 
Russell. "  Much  negotiation  had  to  be  carried  on  between 
the  members  of  the  govermiient  before  the  wheels  would 
work  at  all. 

iOn  February  22,  1852,  Lord  John  Russell  resigned.  The 
condition  of  affairs  did  not  impress  Baron  Stockmar  with 
respect.  As  an  able  critic,  very  conversant  with  English 
afifairs,  yet  looking  at  them  from  an  external  point  of  view, 
he  thought  the  Coalition  goverimient  of  Whigs  and  Peel- 
ites  would  not  last. 
As  a  compromise  between  Lord  John  Russell  on  the  one 

216 


STIRRING   TIMES   OF    PEACE  AND  WAR 

side  and  Lord  Palmerston  on  the  other,  the  Earl  of  Aber- 
deen was,  in  December,  intrusted  with  the  duty  of  forming 
a  Liberal  government,  Pahnerston  consenting  to  accept 
the  Home  Office,  and  Lord  John  Russell  going  to  the  For- 
eign Office. 

The  Russian  Emperor  issued  a  manifesto  in  which  he 
said  that  the  Turkish  proclamation,  filled  with  lying  ac- 
cusations, left  the  Emperor  no  alternative  but  to  compel 
Turkey  by  force  of  arms  to  respect  treaties.  He  WTote  to 
the  Queen,  who  replied  that  a  painful  impression  had  been 
produced  upon  her  by  the  occupation  of  the  principalities, 
"For  the  last  four  months,"  she  continued,  "this  has 
caused  a  general  commotion  in  Europe,  which  is  calculated 
to  lead  to  ulterior  events  which  I  should  deeply  deplore  in 
common  with  your  Majesty ;  but,  as  I  know  that  your  Maj- 
esty's intentions  towards  the  Porte  are  friendly  and  disin- 
terested, I  have  every  confidence  that  you  will  find  means 
to  give  expression  and  effect  to  them,  so  as  to  avoid  those 
grave  dangers  which,  I  assure  you,  all  my  efforts  will  be 
directed  to  prevent. 

"  The  impartial  attention  with  which  I  have  followed  the 
causes  which  up  to  this  time  have  led  to  the  failure  of  all 
attempts  at  conciliation,  leaves  me  with  the  firm  conviction 
that  there  exists  no  real  obstacle  which  cannot  be  removed 
or  promptly  surmounted  with  your  Majesty's  assistance." 

Menschikoff,  the  Russian  Ambassador,  left  Constanti- 
nople on  May  21,  1853.  The  Russian  army  crossed  the 
frontier  stream,  the  Pruth,  in  July.  The  Porte  declared 
war.  The  first  battle  occurred  at  Oltenitza.  The  Turks 
evacuated  the  northern  bank  of  the  Danube,  except  at  Kala- 
fat.  Russia's  first  great  success  was  gained  by  a  sudden 
attack  upon  the  Turkish  fleet  in  the  harbor  of  Sinope  in  the 
Black  Sea,  destroying  completely  all  the  ships  lying  before 
the  town. 

The  Russian  attack  upon  Sinope  made  peace  practically 
impossible,  people  being  so  angry  that  when  Lord  Palm- 
erston's  disgust  at  Lord  Aberdeen's  disinclination  for  war 
made  him  for  a  time  resign,  they  were  ready  to  vent  their 

217 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

anger  on  Prince  Albert,  supposing  that  he  was  not  suf- 
ficiently bellicose. 

On  December  loth.  Lord  Palmerston  wrote  to  Lord  Aber- 
deen :  "  Will  you  allow  me  to  repeat  in  writing  what  I  have 
more  than  once  said  verbally  on  the  state  of  things  between 
Russia  and  Turkey?  It  appears  to  me  that  we  have  two 
objects  in  view — one  to  put  an  end  to  the  present  war  be- 
tween these  two  Powers,  and  the  other  to  prevent,  as  far  as 
diplomatic  arrangements  can  do  so,  a  recurrence  of  similar 
difficulties,  and,  through  such  difficulties,  renewed  danger 
to  the  peace  of  Europe. 

"Now  it  seems  plain  that  unless  Turkey  shall  be  laid 
prostrate  at  the  feet  of  Russia  by  disasters  in  war — an 
event  which  England  and  France  could  not  without  dis- 
honor permit — no  peace  can  be  concluded  between  the  con- 
tending parties  unless  the  Emperor  consents  to  abandon 
I  his  demands,  to  evacuate  the  principalities,  and  to  renounce 
some  of  the  embarrassing  stipulations  of  former  treaties 
upon  which  he  has  founded  the  pretensions  which  have 
been  the  cause  of  existing  difficulties. 

"  To  bring  the  Emperor  to  agree  to  this  it  is  necessary  to 
i  bring  to  bear  considerable  pressure  upon  him,  and  the 
quarter  in  which  that  pressure  can  at  the  present  be  most 
easily  brought  to  bear  is  the  Black  Sea  and  the  countries 
which  border  it. 

"  In  the  Black  Sea,  the  combined  English,  French,  and 
I  Turkish  squadrons  are  indisputably  superior  to  the  Rus- 
vsian  fleet,  and  are  able  to  give  the  law  to  that  fleet.  What 
I  would  strongly  recommend,  therefore,  is  that  which  I  pro- 
posed some  months  ago  to  the  Cabinet — namelj'^,  that  the 
Russian  government  and  the  Russian  Admiral  at  Sebas- 
topol  should  be  infonned  that  so  long  as  Russian  troops 
occupy  the  principalities,  or  hold  a  position  in  any  other  (  j  j 
part  of  the  Turkish  territory,  no  Russian  ship  of  war  can 
be  allowed  to  show  itself  out  of  port  in  the  Black  Sea. " 
^  Preparations  by  sea  and  land  were  now  anxiously  watched 
by  the  Queen  and  Prince  Albert. 

The  Oueen  wrote:  "We  went  twice  more  to  the  camp 

2l8 


STIRRING   TIMES   OF    PEACE  AND  WAR 

[Chobham],  and  had  two  interesting  days  there.  It  has 
been  most  successful,  and  the  troops  have  been  particu- 
larly well  all  the  time.  When  I  think  that  this  camp  and 
all  our  large  fleet  are  without  doubt  the  result  of  Albert's 
assiduous  and  unceasing  representations  to  the  late  and 
the  present  govermnents,  without  which  I  fully  beHeve 
very  little  would  have  been  done,  one  may  be  proud  and 
thankful.  But,  as  usual,  he  is  so  modest  that  he  allows 
no  praise.  He  works  for  the  general  good,  and  is  suffi- 
ciently rewarded  when  he  sees  this  carried  out." 

She  also  wrote  to  Stockmar  in  Germany:  "That  you 
should  be  absent  when  we  are  tried  in  the  basest  and  most 
disgraceful  manner,  and  when  the  Prince  is  being  badgered 
for  weeks  by  the  ultras  of  both  parties,  is  very  unfortunate. 

"The  Prince  treats  it  with  contempt;  but,  with  his  keen 
and  very  high  feeling  of  honor,  he  is  wounded,  hurt,  and 
outraged  at  the  attack  on  his  honor,  and  he  is  looking  very 
ill,  though  his  spirits  do  not  fail  him.  And  coming  as  it 
does  at  a  moment  of  such  intense  political  anxiety,  when 
this  country  is  on  the  verge  of  a  war,  and  anything  but 
prepared  for  it,  it  is  overwhelming  and  depresses  us  sadly. 

"  Aberdeen  is  all  kindness,  and  so  are  the  other  Ministers, 
and  I  am  told  that  the  reaction  will  be  stronger  than  any 
attack  could  be — that  the  country  is  as  loyal  as  ever,  only 
a  little  mad.  If  brought  forward  in  Parliament,  they  say 
that  things  could  be  put  and  explained  in  a  manner  that 
would  elicit  universal  satisfaction  and  enthusiasm.  But 
the  uncertainty  of  all  this  is  harassing." 

Referring  to  the  position  now  taken  up  by  Great  Britain 
and  France,  the  Emperor  of  Russia  wrote  to  Louis  Napoleon : 
"England  and  France  have  sided  with  the  enemies  of 
Christianity  against  Russia,  combating  for  the  orthodox 
faith."  The  Russian  Minister  left  London  at  the  end  of 
the  first  week  in  February,  on  which  date  the  British  repre- 
sentative at  St.  Petersburg  left  for  home. 

On  March  27,  1854,  at  Paris,  the  British  representative 
was  informed  that  Russia  refused  to  reply  to  the  summons 
of  England  and  France.     The  next  day  both  countries 

219 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

declared  war.  "Her  Majesty  feels  called  upon  by  regard 
for  an  ally,  the  integrity  and  independence  of  whose  em- 
pire have  been  recognized  as  essential  to  the  peace  of  Eu- 
rope, by  the  sympathies  of  her  people  of  the  right  against 
wrong,  by  a  desire  to  avert  from  her  dominions  most  in- 
jurious consequences,  and  to  save  Europe  from  the  pre- 
ponderance of  a  Power  which  has  violated  the  faith  of  trea- 
ties and  defies  the  opinion  of  the  civilized  world,  to  take 
up  arms." 

On  the  same  date  the  Lord  Chancellor  read  a  message 
from  the  Queen  "to  acquaint  the  House  that  the  negotia- 
tions in  which  her  Majesty,  in  concert  with  her  allies,  has 
for  some  time  past  been  engaged  with  his  Majesty  the  Em- 
peror of  all  the  Russias  have  terminated,  and  her  Majesty 
feels  bound  to  afford  active  assistance  to  her  ally  the  Sul- 
tan against  unprovoked  aggression."  "Preparations  for 
war"  had  been  the  headline  each  morning  of  a  column  in 
the  London  papers  for  months  past. 

The  Queen  wrote:  "The  last  battalion  of  the  Guards 
and  the  Scottish  Fusiliers  embarked  to-day.  They  passed 
tlirough  the  court-yard  here  [Buckingham  Palace]  at 
seven  o'clock  this  morning.  We  stood  on  the  balcony  to 
see  them.  The  morning  was  fine,  the  sun  was  shining 
over  the  tower  at  Westininster  Abbey,  and  an  immense 
crowd  collected  to  see  the  fine  men,  and  cheered  them  im- 
mensely. It  was  with  difficulty  they  marched  along. 
They  formed  up,  presented  arms,  and  then  cheered  us  very 
heartily,  and  went  off  cheering.  Many  sorrowing  friends 
were  there,  and  one  saw  the  shaking  of  many  a  hand.  My 
best  wishes  and  prayers  be  with  them  all." 

Meanwhile  a  continual  succession  of  troop-ships,  crowded 
with  scarlet-clad  soldiers,  had  been  leaving  the  English 
forts,  amid  the  cheers  of  the  people,  for  Gibraltar,  Malta, 
and  the  East.  Large  camps  had  been  fonned  at  Varna,  to 
the  south  of  the  mouth  of  the  Danube,  where  both  cholera 
and  fever  had  begun  to  make  inroads  on  the  numbers  of  the 
men  available  for  the  front. 

At  last  the  great  fleet  of  war-ships  and  transports  crossed 

220 


STIRRING   TIMES   OF    PEACE  AND  WAR 

to  the  north  of  the  Black  Sea,  and  landed  in  safety  the 
army — twenty-five  thousand  English,  a  like  number  of 
French,  and  eight  thousand  Turks — who  met  with  no  re- 
sistance, and  were  able  to  form  up  in  uninterrupted  com- 
fort, and  to  take  their  places  in  the  long  line  whose  right 
flank,  formed  by  the  French,  rested  upon  the  sea,  pro- 
tected by  the  fleet,  while  the  left  stretched  to  the  red  lines 
of  the  English,  a  long  way  inland. 

Moving  eastward,  they  first  came  into  touch  with  the^ 
Russians  at  Balbek,  where  a  sharp  cavalry  skirmish  was 
the  overture  to  the  battle  of  Alma. 

" Great  battle — Russians  defeated \"  "  Awful  slaughter 
— two  thousand  British  killed  and  wounded!"  were  the 
cries  in  the  London  streets  when  the  news  arrived  that  in 
the  first  shock  of  arms  the  Allies  had  been  the  victors. 
We  all  thought  in  those  days  that  the  war  would  not  last 
long,  for  had  not  the  great  Russian  army,  in  their  chosen 
position,  been  signally  defeated  ?  Our  troops  had  ad- 
vanced in  beautiful  order  on  that  hot  autumn  day,  keep- 
ing a  good  line  with  the  French.  As  the  long  front  swept 
down  the  vine-clad  slopes  beside  a  little  stream,  which 
wound  along  at  the  base  of  the  far  steeper  bank  that 
shelved  towards  them  and  the  still  steeper  ridges  above, 
they  came  into  the  heavy  firing  directed  upon  them  from 
those  adverse  hills.  Great  blue  masses  of  troops,  of  can- 
non smoke  rushing  and  rising  at  intervals — notably  in 
one  great  battery  on  the  British  centre — could  be  distinctly 
seen,  for  the  distances  in  battle  were  still  short. 

The  Russians  were  armed  for  the  most  part  with  ok 
smooth-bore  weapons,  often  converted  from  flintlocks  into 
percussion,  and  we  had  comparatively  few  riflemen.  The 
cannon  were  also  smooth-bore,  firing  chiefly  round-shot. 

Through  the  steeply  embanked  little  river  our  troops 
splashed  and  waded,  many  eating  the  grapes  they  had 
plucked  from  the  vineyards,  and  took  breath  for  a  moment 
under  the  shelter  of  the  bank.  Then  they  struggled  up 
and  formed  line  for  the  terrible  advance  up  the  steep  glacis 
of  the  natural  fortress,  so  strongly  occupied  by  the  enemy. 

221 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

The  lines  advanced,  wavered,  advanced,  and  looked  to 
where,  on  the  far  right,  the  Zouaves  and  light  infantry  of 
the  French  were  already  ascending  the  last  of  the  adverse 
heights. 

The  fire  from  the  central  redoubt  was  tremendous,  and 
for  a  moment  it  seemed  as  though  the  Guards  and  High- 
landers would  find  the  task  too  heavy  for  them ;  but,  with 
a  great  cheer,  they  swept  on,  and  the  heavy  earthwork  was 
hid  in  the  continuous  smoke  from  the  small -arms,  the 
heavier  volumes  from  the  cannons  having  ceased. 
I     The  Russians  broke  and  retired  in  sullen  crowds.    The 
j  British  reserves  were  pushed  up,  and  when  they  reached 
/'  the  plateau  above  the  last  ridge,  they  found  that  they  and 
I   the  French  had  won  a  complete  victory,  the  whole  of  the 
!   Russian  army  being  in  full  retreat.     Thinned  in  numbers, 
and  greatly  fatigued  with  their  exertions,  they  did  not 
pursue,  but  bivouacked  upon  the  position  so  splendidly 
\  won. 

The  intention  of  the  commanders  was  to  leave  the  coast, 

and  to  march  forward  until  they  rounded  the  head  of  the 

\  harbor  and  the  long  inlet  of  Sebastopol,  and  to  march  east" 

j  ward  until  they  struck  the  sea.     The  French  right  flank 

I  was  nearest  Sebastopol,  and  the  British  farther  on  to  Bala- 

i  klava.     Here  it  was  thought  they  could  be  best  supported 

I  from  the  sea  by  their  fleet,  while  by  keeping  along  the  ele- 

j    vated  parts  near  the  top  of  Sebastopol  harbor  they  might 

:    hope  in  time  to  endanger  the  enemy's  sources  of  supply. 

I    Meanwhile  the  Russians  were  allowed  to  calmly  enter  their 

defences  on  both  sides  of  the  inlet.     It  was  held  that  the 

course  taken  by  the  commanders  was  a  mistake,  and  that 

if  they  had  resolutely  advanced  upon  the  side  of  the  town 

nearest  them,  instead  of  making  the  circuit  to  that  farther 

off,  they  might  have  driven  in  the  Russian  defences,  and 

at  once  possessed  themselves  of  the  so-called  north  side,  to 

which  the  Russians  ultimately  retired  at  the  end  of  the 

siege. 

Under  the  genius  of  Todleben  the  Russian  defences  rose 
like  magic.    Those  on  the  northern  side  were  never  menaced, 

222 


STIRRING   TIMES    OF    PEACE  AND  WAR 

even  by  distant  artillery  fire,  but  those  upon  the  southern 
and  eastern  sides  were  subjected  to  a  constant  hail  of 
cannon-balls  and  bullets.  But  the  great  earthworks  of 
the  famous  Russian  engineer  completely  bade  defiance 
through  two  long  winters  to  all  the  efforts  of  his  enemies. 

The  Queen  wrote :  "  We  are — indeed,  the  whole  country 
is — entirely  engrossed  with  one  idea  and  one  anxious 
thought — namely,  the  Crimea.  We  have  received  all  the 
most  interesting  and  gratifying  details  of  the  splendid 
and  decisive  victory  of  the  Alma.  My  noble  troops  be- 
haved with  courage  and  determination  truly  admirable. 
The  Russians  expected  their  position  would  hold  out  three 
weeks.  Their  loss  was  immense.  The  whole  garrison  at 
Sebastopol  was  out. 

"  Since  then  the  army  has  performed  a  wonderful  march 
to  Balaklava  and  the  bombardment  of  Sebastopol  has  be- 
gun. Lord  Raglan's  behavior  was  worthy  of  the  old  Duke 
— such  coolness  in  the  midst  of  the  hottest  firel  I  feel  so 
proud  of  my  troops,  who,  they  say,  bear  their  privations 
and  the  sad  disease  which  still  haunts  them  with  the  great- 
est courage  and  good-humor." 

October  brought  the  attack  at  the  back  of  Balaklava  on 
the  English  lines,  the  splendid  but  fatal  charges  of  the 
Light  Cavalry,  and  the  more  successful  onslaught  of  the 
"Heavies."  Nolan  had  brought  the  order  to  Cardigan 
to  charge  the  guns.  The  task  evidently  involved  a  death 
ride,  and  from  the  widely  extended  lines  of  the  Highland 
brigade,  slanting  up  across  the  hills  which  guarded  the 
head  of  the  little  circular  loch  of  Balaklava,  they  could  see 
the  galloping  squadrons  of  our  cavalry  head  for  the  plain, 
where,  ranged  in  front  and  to  the  right  and  left,  were  the 
field-batteries  of  the  Russians,  who  continually  plunged 
their  shot  into  the  horsemen's  ranks.  In  spite  of  all,  how- 
ever, the  little  force  of  less  than  700  men  galloped  on,  until 
they  sabred  the  gunners  at  the  batteries.  They  left  478  of 
their  number  on  the  ground,  and  only  195  returned. 

By  this  time  our  forces  in  the  trenches  had  been  reduced 
to  16,000  men.     The  Prince  wanted — 

223 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

1.  The  militia  to  be  completed  by  ballot,  according  to  the 
law  of  the  land. 

2.  The  obtaining  of  the  power  for  the  Crown  to  accept 
offers  from  the  militia  to  go  abroad,  and  the  relief  of  some 
of  our  regiments  in  the  Mediterranean  by  these  regiments. 

3.  The  sending  of  these  relieved  regiments  to  Lord 
Raglan. 

4.  The  obtaining  of  the  power  for  the  Crown  to  enlist 
volunteers. 

5.  The  taking  of  immediate  steps  for  the  formation  of 
foreign  legions. 

6.  The  proclamation  inviting  militiamen  to  volunteer 
into  regiments  of  the  line. 

Six  thousand  English  and  20,000  French  troops  were  to 
reinforce  the  army  before  Sebastopol,  Meanwhile  mud 
and  mismanagement  deepened.  Some  very  singular 
blunders  were  committed.  In  one  instance  when  cattle 
were  landed  alive  at  Balaklava,  and  could  have  been 
marched  up  to  the  front,  so  that  they  themselves  would 
save  all  difficulty  of  transport,  they  were  killed,  and  their 
carcasses  could  not  be  carried  the  few  miles  necessary  for 
the  supply  of  the  troops.  There  was  a  sea  of  mud  between 
the  army  near  the  trenches  and  their  base  of  supply  at  the 
harbor. 

In  November  the  Russians  ought  to  have  carried,  but 
did  not  carry,  the  plateau  about  Inkerman.  If  they  had 
established  themselves  there,  they  would  have  got  behind 
the  English  right  flank,  and  thus  endangered  all  commu- 
nication with  Balaklava. 

"The  Queen  has  received  with  pride  and  joy,"  she  wrote 
on  November  i8th,  "  the  telegraphic  news  of  the  glorious — 
but,  alas!  bloody — victory  of  the  5th.  These  feelings  of 
pride  and  satisfaction  are  very  painfully  alloyed  by  the 
grievous  news  of  the  loss  of  so  many  generals,  and  in  par- 
ticular of  Sir  George  Cathcart,  who  was  so  distinguished 
and  excellent  an  officer. 

"We  are  most  thankful  that  Lord  Raglan's  valuable 
life  has  been  spared.     The  Queen  trusts  he  will  not  expose 

224 


STIRRING   TIMES   OF    PEACE  AND  WAR 

himself  more  than  is  absolutely  necessary.  The  Queen 
cannot  sufficiently  express  her  high  sense  of  the  great  ser- 
vice he  has  rendered,  and  is  rendering,  to  her  and  to  the 
country  by  the  very  able  manner  in  which  he  has  led  the 
bravest  troops  that  ever  fought — troops  which  it  is  a  pride 
to  her  to  be  able  to  call  her  own. 

"To  mark  the  Queen's  approbation,  she  wishes  to  confer 
on  Lord  Raglan  the  baton  of  Field  Marshal.  It  affords 
her  the  sincerest  gratification  to  confer  it  on  one  who 
has  so  nobly  earned  the  highest  rank  in  the  army  which 
he  has  so  long  served  in  under  the  immortal  hero  who, 
she  laments,  could  not  witness  the  success  of  a  friend 
he  so  greatly  esteemed.  Both  the  Queen  and  the  Prince 
are  anxious  to  express  to  Lord  Raglan  their  unbounded 
admiration  of  the  heroic  conduct  of  the  army  and  their 
sincere  sympathy  in  their  sufferings  and  privations  so 
nobly  borne." 

To  Lady  Cathcart  she  wrote :  "  I  can  let  no  one  but  my- 
self express  to  you  all  my  deep  feelings  and  heartfelt  sym- 
pathy on  this  sad  occasion  when  you  have  been  deprived 
of  a  beloved  husband,  and  I  and  the  country  of  a  most  dis- 
tinguished and  excellent  officer. 

"  I  can  attempt  to  offer  no  consolation  in  your  present 
overwhelming  affliction,  for  none  but  that  derived  from  a 
reliance  on  Him  who  never  forsakes  those  who  are  in  dis- 
tress can  be  of  any  avail.  But  it  may  be  soothing  to  you 
to  know  how  highly  I  valued  your  lamented  husband,  how 
much  confidence  I  placed  in  him,  and  how  very  deeply  and 
truly  I  mourn  his  loss. 

"  Sir  George  Cathcart  died  as  he  lived,  in  the  service  of 
his  sovereign  and  his  country,  an  example  to  all  who  fol- 
low him." 

"  Since  I  wrote,"  she  says  to  King  Leopold,  "on  the  28th 
November,  we  have  received  all  the  details  of  the  bloody 
but  glorious  battle  of  Inkerman.  Sixty  thousand  Rus- 
sians defeated  by  8000  English  and  6000  French  is  almost 
a  miracle.  The  Russians  lost  15,000.  They  behaved 
with  the  greatest  barbarity.  Many  of  our  poor  officers 
p  225 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

who  were  only  slightly  wounded  were  brutally  butchered 
on  the  ground ;  several  lived  long  enough  to  say  this. 

"  When  poor  Sir  George  Cathcart  fell  mortally  wounded, 
his  faithful  and  devoted  military  secretary.  Colonel  Charles 
Seymour,  who  had  been  with  him  at  the  Cape,  sprang  from 
his  horse,  and  with  one  arm — he  was  wounded  in  the  other 
— supported  his  dying  chief,  and  three  wretches  came  and 
bayonetted  him. 

"This  is  monstrous,  and  letters  have  been  sent  by  the 
two  commanders-in-chief  to  Menschikoff  to  remonstrate. 
The  atrocities  conmiitted  by  the  Russians  on  the  wounded 
are  too  horrible  to  believe.  General  Bentinck,  whom  we 
saw  on  the  29th,  said  it  was  a  disagreeable  kind  of  warfare, 
as  it  was  with  people  who  behaved  like  savages." 

The  presence  of  Sardinian  troops  on  the  battle-field  was 
marked  at  home  by  a  visit  of  the  Duke  of  Genoa,  a  most 
gallant  officer,  who  in  the  year  1848  fought  in  the  desperate 
battle  of  Novara  and  had  his  horse  shot  under  him.  A 
handsome  man,  he  wore  an  immense  mustache,  which 
was  prolonged  in  most  formidable  spikes  on  each  side  of 
his  face.  Everybody  admired  him  and  was  civil  to  him. 
A  great  dinner  was  given  to  him  at  Stafford  House  by  the 
Duchess  of  Sutherland,  and  was  attended  by  the  Queen 
and  Prince. 

To  do  them  all  honor,  my  grandmother  had  arranged 
that  four  of  us  children  were  to  act  as  pages,  and  all  four 
were  very  solemn  and  very  nervous  as  to  the  duties  cast 
upon  us  at  the  ages  of  seven,  eight,  and  nine.  We  were 
to  precede  the  party  as  they  walked  up  the  stairs  in  the 
great  central  hall,  and  were  to  do  it  backward.  But 
only  one  rehearsal  had  been  undertaken.  All  went  pretty 
well  until  half  the  ascent  had  been  accomplished,  and 
then  one,  afraid  of  tripping  up,  ignominiously  turned  tail, 
followed  by  the  other  three,  to  the  great  amusement  of  the 
Queen,  who  laughed  much  at  us;  but  we  were  blushing 
too  much  to  allow  us  to  face  round  towards  her  again. 

The  dinners,  when  the  party  was  large,  were  always  held 
in  the  room  above  the  portico,  where  a  wonderful  hanging 

226 


STIRRING   TIMES   OF   PEACE  AND  WAR 

candelabrum,  with  white  brass  hlies  interspersed  among 
green  glass  leaves,  held  a  wealth  of  candles.  The  com- 
pany, after  dinner,  dispersed  as  they  liked  in  the  great 
picture-gallery,  which  takes  up  the  whole  length  of  the 
house  on  the  eastern  side,  and  is  connected  with  other  large 
rooms  looking  on  to  the  garden. 

The  winter  brought  us  trouble.  The  Crimean  cold  and 
mud  had  not  been  sufficiently  provided  against.  There 
was  not  enough  warm  clothing  for  the  troops,  and  the  sup- 
plies of  all  sorts  were  got  up  to  the  lines  investing  the  city 
with  difficulty.  There  was  terrible  want  of  organization, 
and  one  notable  instance  may  be  cited,  in  the  killing  at 
Balaklava  of  a  large  herd  of  cattle,  which  might  just  as  well 
have  been  driven  to  the  front,  but  when  killed  the  meat 
could  only  be  transported  with  much  delay.  The  Russian 
despatches,  always  published  in  London  sooner  than  our 
own,  as  messages  for  us  had  to  be  first  carried  by  sea  to 
Constantinople;  and  the  accounts  of  sufferings  sent  by 
Mr.  Russell,  of  the  Times,  and  in  private  letters,  bred  great 
anger  against  the  War  Office  in  England.  In  November 
a  very  heavy  attack  was  made  on  the  British  right  flank 
by  vast  masses  of  Russians,  who  came  by  the  Tchernaya 
Valley  to  that  of  Inlierman,  and  surprised  our  men,  who, 
fighting  desperately,  lost  1 02  officers  and  2500  men,  but 
retained  the  position  they  had  occupied,  being  at  the  end  of 
the  fight  nobly  supported  by  the  French,  who  lost  over 
1600.  Before  the  end  of  the  year  the  intrenchments  of 
the  Russians  had  become  stupendous  works,  executed 
under  the  superintendence  of  General  Todleben.  The 
British  riflemen  had  the  advantage  in  small -arms,  the 
garrison  being  largely  armed  with  old  flintlocks,  converted 
to  percussion,  smooth-bore  muskets.  We  had  the  new 
Minie  rifle,  and  also  two  guns  of  rifled  pattern  called  after 
the  inventor,  Lancaster.  Their  shooting,  though  of  long 
range,  was  very  erratic.  In  mortars  we  were  better  armed ; 
but  the  Russians,  by  landing  all  the  guns  from  their  fleet 
before  they  sank  the  vessels,  were  well  provided  with  heavy 
smooth-bore  cannon.     In  the  embrasures  they  fitted  man- 

227 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

telets  made  of  thick  rope,  to  keep  out  the  Mini^  bullets.  The 
shelter  the  town  gave  them  was  of  great  value,  especially 
on  the  north  side.  Their  bomb-proofs  were  immense;  but 
the  terrible  twinkling  arcs  in  the  sky  of  our  great  shells 
were  to  be  seen  by  day  and  night,  and  the  tremendous 
detonation  of  the  explosions  made  all  existence  above 
ground  hazardous  on  the  southern  side  of  the  harbor. 

Throughout  the  spring  of  1855  sorties  by  the  garrison 
and  desperate  fighting  in  the  trenches  occurred.  A  naval 
expedition  to  Kertch,  in  the  Sea  of  Azof,  was  successful 
in  May  in  destroying  stores  and  forts.  In  June  it  was  re- 
solved to  make  a  combined  assault  with  the  French  on  two 
of  the  great  Russian  advanced  forts.  One,  called  by  the 
French  Mamelon,  was  to  be  stormed  by  them,  and  the 
other,  called  by  the  English  the  Redan,  was  assigned  as 
the  task  of  the  British.     The  English  attack  failed. 

Lord  Raglan,  the  British  commander-in-chief,  one  of 
Wellington's  Peninsula  men,  died  very  soon  after  this  re- 
pulse. In  September  there  was  another  attempt  made. 
The  French  were  close  to  the  MalakhofT  tower  and  trenches, 
and  their  assault  succeeded.  Ours,  against  the  Redan, 
again  failed.  The  men  had  to  run  across  a  space  of  open 
ground,  and  suffered  heavily.  They  reached  the  ditch 
of  the  Redan,  and  there  clung  desperately  to  the  ramparts 
of  the  works,  which  gave  forth  a  close  stream  of  shot,  kill- 
ing all  exposed  to  it.  The  survivors  had  to  retreat.  Sir 
Colin  Campbell  desired  next  day  to  attack  again  with  the 
Highland  brigade,  and  arrangements  were  made  to  support 
them  with  heavy  columns,  but  the  enemy  had  had  enough  ; 
the  bombardment  that  accompanied  the  attacks  had  been 
very  severe.  The  French  success  at  the  Malakhoff  tower 
was  a  strong  argument  to  induce  them  to  retire  to  the 
north  side  of  the  harbor.  The  bridge  of  boats  across  the 
water  was  thronged  all  night  with  the  retiring  columns. 
Great  explosions  in  the  city  showed  that  the  Russians  had 
put  an  end  to  their  wonderful  defence,  and  the  fall  of  Se- 
bastopol  was  celebrated  all  over  Great  Britain  with  much 
rejoicing.     In  the  Malakhoff  and  Redan  3000  cannon  were 

22^ 


STIRRING    TIMES   OF    PEACE  AND  WAR 

found,  and  120,000  pounds  of  gunpowder.  In  Sebastopol, 
120  cannon  of  bronze  and  371 1  of  iron,  407,000  round- 
shot,  102,000  shell,  24,000  canister,  525,000  pounds  of  gun- 
powder, and  enormous  stores  of  all  kinds.  In  February, 
1856,  an  armistice  was  signed  at  Vienna,  and  the  treaty 
of  peace  at  Paris  in  March. 

Lord  Ellesmere,  in  speaking  in  praise  of  the  troops  and 
fleet,  said  of  Lord  Raglan's  headquarters:  "From  that 
humble  abode  there  radiated  a  moral  force,  a  serene  and 
imquenchable  spirit  of  faith  and  trust  and  duty,  which 
did  resist,  and  which  alone  could  have  resisted,  the  com- 
bined influences  of  weather,  privation,  and  fatigue,  super- 
added to  the  constant  changes  of  a  defective  military  po- 
sition, threatened  in  front,  flank,  and  rear,  by  a  brave  and 
able  and  outnumbering  army.  The  spell  prevailed;  not 
even  discomfiture,  far  less  disgrace,  fell  on  the  banners  of 
England."  Then,  alluding  to  Miss  Nightingale,  who, 
with  her  women  nurses,  had  labored  in  the  hospitals  or- 
ganized at  Scutari  on  the  Hellespont,  he  continued :  "  My 
lords,  the  agony  of  that  time  has  become  matter  of  history. 
The  vegetation  of  two  successive  springs  has  obscured  the 
vestiges  of  Balaklava  and  Inkerman.  Strong  voices  now 
answer  to  the  roll-call,  and  sturdy  fonns  now  cluster  round 
the  colors.  The  ranks  are  full;  the  hospitals  are  empty. 
The  angel  of  mercy  still  lingers  to  the  last  on  the  scene  of 
her  labors,  but  her  mission  is  all  but  accomplished.  Those 
long  arcades  of  Scutari,  in  which  dying  men  sat  up  to 
catch  the  sound  of  her  footsteps  or  the  flutter  of  her  dress, 
and  fell  back  on  the  pillow,  content  to  have  seen  her  shadow 
as  it  passed,  are  now  comparatively  deserted.  I  am  sure 
that  while  England's  renovated  battalions  are  shaking 
the  earth  with  their  tramp,  and  extorting  alike  from  con- 
stant allies  and  former  foes  that  ungrudging  admiration 
which  true  soldiers  feel  even  for  foemen  worthy  of  their 
steel — amid  that  pomp  and  circumstance  of  war's  display, 
without  its  terrors,  there  will  be  a  bunch  of  myrrh  in  the 
festival  goblet  when  the  cup  is  fullest  and  the  revel  is  at  its 
height,  which  will  make  the  draught  bitter,  but  whole- 

229 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

some.  There  will  be  a  thought  and  a  sigh  for  one  who 
should  have  been  there.  They  will  miss,  among  the 
crowd  of  officers  of  many  nations,  the  armless  sleeve  and 
noble  fonn  of  Lord  Raglan.  Yes,  there  will  be  a  thought 
and  a  sigh  for  him  who  established  and  maintained  the 
footing  of  England  on  that  soil,  and  but  for  whom,  as  I 
devoutly  believe,  the  graves  at  Inkerman  would  be  now, 
like  the  tumuli  which  record  in  that  country  the  reign  of 
extinct  dynasties,  the  sole  memorial  of  the  achievements 
and  the  fate  of  an  English  army."  It  was  remarked  in 
the  same  debate,  that  if  we  "compared  the  position  of 
Russia  in  the  Baltic  and  the  Black  seas  before  the  war 
with  that  she  occupied  afterwards,  we  must  admit  that  the 
objects  of  that  war  had  been  gained.  Russia  had  threat- 
ened Norway  and  Sweden,  she  held  a  protectorate  of  the 
principalities,  and  in  Sebastopol  she  kept  a  standing 
menace  over  the  Ottoman  Empire.  Sebastopol  is  now 
destroyed;  the  protectorate  no  longer  exists;  the  Black 
Sea  is  opened,  and  Sweden  is  secured  from  aggression." 
The  only  gain  to  Russia  was  the  advance  through  the 
Caucasus  and  in  the  country  about  Kars,  in  Asia  Minor. 
Kars,  defended  by  General  Williams,  capitulated,  after  a 
long  and  most  gallant  defence.  The  garrison  consisted 
entirely  of  Turkish  troops,  led  by  a  few  English  officers. 
"j  The  peace  celebrations  showed  the  joy  of  the  people  in 
me  conclusion  of  the  war  which  had  brought  terrible  suf- 
■fering  on  the  army  in  the  Crimea,  but  had  finished  in  vic- 
/  tory,  leaving  Britain  with  a  force  far  larger  and  better  than 
/  before.  The  return  of  the  Guards  through  the  London 
/  streets  to  their  barracks  was  a  most  moving  sight.  In 
the  parks  hundreds  of  thousands  watched  great  displays 
of  fireworks,  and  the  Russian  cannon  taken  were  distrib- 
uted as  war  trophies  to  all  the  great  towns.  Aldershot 
has  since  been  regularly  maintained  as  the  exercise  ground 
of  a  considerable  force,  where  regiments  from  all  parts  of 
\  the  kingdom  may  receive  good  military  instruction.  The 
i  fleet  was  augmented;  all  forces  by  sea  and  land  were 
given  improved  rifled  small -arms.     Fortifications  at  the 

230 


THE    QUEEN    IN    IS5I 


STIRRING    TIMES    OF    PEACE  AND  WAR 

great  seaports  were  commenced,  and  the  alliance  with 
France  guaranteed  peace  between  ourselves  and  our  most 
powerful  and  most  jealous  neighbor. 

The  following  letters  from  Queen  Victoria  to  an  intimate 
personal  friend  refer  to  the  period  of  the  Crimean  War : 

"  Buckingham  Palace,  February  i,  1854. 
"  The  Prince  was  very  much  touched  by  your  very  kind 
expressions,  which  we  both  value  much.  I  have  always 
loved  you  greatly,  but  your  admiration  for,  and  apprecia- 
tion of,  my  beloved  husband,  has  naturally  greatly  in- 
creased this  feeling.  How  very  gratifying  and  satisfac- 
tory was  the  reference  concerning  this  subject  [vindication 
of  the  Prince]  in  the  two  Houses  last  night. 

"  Buckingham  Palace,  March  28,  1854. 
"I  understand  there  is  doubt  as  to  the  burial  of  poor 
Gilbert  Grosvenor,  which  must  make  his  loss  doubly  dis- 
tressing to  his  poor  parents.  Under  the  circumstances  I 
will  not  ask  you  to  come  to  dinner,  although  I  should  wish 
that  you  should,  under  any  circumstances,  come  to  the 
Drawing-room.  But,  perhaps,  by  Friday,  this  sad  un- 
certainty may  be  at  an  end,  and  you  might  be  able  to  dine 
with  us.     Lady  Ely,  of  course,  is  excused. " 

"  Windsor  Castle,  October  28,  1854. 

"My  thoughts  are  constantly  with  you  since  I  heard 
yesterday  that  your  worst  fears  about  your  dear  boy  are 
realized  [the  death  of  Lord  Frederick  Gower  before  Se- 
bastopol].  I  cannot  tell  you  how  grieved  and  shocked  we 
are.  Truly  we  both  sympathize  with  you  and  the  Duke 
and  your  whole  family  on  this  very  sad  occasion.  You 
will  know  my  love  and  affection  for  you,  and  will  therefore 
fully  believe  how  my  heart  bleeds  for  you,  who  are  so  ten- 
der and  so  devoted  a  mother. 

"This  is  a  terrible  season  of  mourning  and  sorrow. 
How  many  mothers,  wives,  sisters,  and  children  are  be- 
reaved at  this  moment.     Alas!  it  is  that  awful  accom- 

231 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

paniment  of  war,  disease,  which  is  so  much  more  to  be 
dreaded  than  the  fighting  itself. 

"  The  Prince  joins  with  me  in  everything  I  have  so  in- 
adequately expressed.  You  are  so  truly  pious  and  good 
that  He  who  has  taken  your  child  to  Himself  will  support 
and  comfort  you  as  He  does  all  who  trust  in  Him." 

"  Buckingham  Palace,  March  6,  1855. 

"Our  visit  to  Chatham  was  of  immense  interest  and  a 
great  gratification  to  me.  Four  hundred  and  fifty  of  my 
dear,  brave,  noble  heroes  I  saw,  and,  thank  God,  upon  the 
whole,  all  in  a  very  satisfactory  state  of  recovery.  Such 
patience  and  resignation,  courage  and  anxiety  to  return 
to  their  service.     Such  fine  men ! 

"The  solemn  event  of  the  poor  Emperor's  [of  Russia] 
death  will,  I  am  sure,  have  shocked  your  uncle  [Duke  of 
Devonshire]  much." 

"  Windsor,  April  5,  1855. 
"  I  am  anxious  to  know  what  your  feelings  would  be  as 
to  being  here  during  the  visit  of  the  Emperor  and  Empress 
of  the  French,  which  takes  place  on  the  i6th.  Tell  me 
candidly  if  you  still  prefer  delaying  a  little  longer  your 
return  to  society,  and,  moreover,  if  you  would  rather  not 
begin  upon  an  occasion  when  there  are  to  be  so  many  peo- 
ple here." 

"  Balmoral,  October  4, 1855. 

"  The  Prince  has  been  a  great  sufferer  with  rheumatism, 
but  it  has  not  kept  him  at  all  to  the  house.  It  is  wonder- 
fully warm  for  the  season.  Our  new  house  is  delight- 
fully pretty  and  comfortable,  and  I  think  you  will  like  the 
simple  furniture  and  plain  carpets,  chintzes,  etc. 

"  I  think  you  will  like  the  Exhibition  at  Paris,  which  is 
certainly  very  good,  though  to  me  that  was  certainly  the 
least  interesting  or  novel  of  what  I  had  to  see  in  that  beau- 
tiful and  enjoyable  city.  I  envy  you  going  there  again. 
We  were  so  very  kindly  received  by  the  whole  nation,  and 

232 


STIRRING   TIMES   OF    PEACE  AND  WAR 

the  Emperor  and  Empress  made  it  so  very  pleasant  and 
easy  for  us." 

LouivS  Napoleon  had  paid  a  visit  to  Queen  Victoria  at 
Windsor  in  April  of  the  preceding  year  (1855). 

"News  arrived  that  the  Emperor  had  reached  London," 
wrote  the  Queen,  "  and  I  hurried  to  be  ready  and  went  over 
to  the  other  side  of  the  castle,  where  we  waited  in  one  of 
the  tapestry  rooms  near  the  Guard  Room.  At  a  quarter 
to  seven  we  heard  that  the  train  had  left  Paddington.  The 
expectation  and  agitation  grew  more  intense.  At  length 
the  crowd  of  anxious  spectators  lining  the  road  seemed  to 
move,  then  came  a  groom,  then  we  heard  a  gun,  and  we 
moved  towards  the  staircase.  Another  groom  came. 
Then  we  saw  the  advanced  guard  of  the  escort;  then  the 
cheers  of  the  crowd  burst  forth.  The  outriders  appeared, 
the  doors  opened,  I  stepped  out,  the  children  and  princes 
close  behind  me;  the  band  struck  up  'Partant  pour  la 
Syrie,'  the  trumpets  sounded,  and  the  open  carriage,  with 
the  Emperor  and  Empress,  Albert  sitting  opposite  to  them, 
drove  up,  and  they  got  out. 

"I  cannot  say  what  indescribable  emotions  filled  me — 
how  much  all  seemed  like  a  wonderful  dream.  These 
great  meetings  of  sovereigns,  surrounded  by  very  exciting 
accompaniments,  are  always  very  agitating." 

A  ball  was  given  in  the  Waterloo  Room.  The  Queen 
danced  a  quadrille  with  the  Emperor.  "How  strange," 
vshe  wrote,  "  to  think  that  I,  the  granddaughter  of  George 
III.,  should  dance  with  the  Emperor  Napoleon,  nephew  of 
England's  great  enemy,  now  my  nearest  and  most  inti- 
mate ally,  in  the  Waterloo  Room,  and  this  ally  only  six 
years  ago  living  in  this  country  an  exile,  poor  and  un- 
thought  of!" 

The  Emperor  and  Empress  paid  a  visit  to  the  City.  The 
Queen  and  Prince  journeyed  from  Windsor  to  London 
with  them,  but  the  Emperor  and  Empress  proceeded  from 
Buckingham  Palace  alone  in  full  State  to  the  Guildhall, 
and  were  delighted  with  their  reception.  In  the  evening  a 
State  visit  was  paid  to  Her  Majesty's  Theatre.     "Never," 

233 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

wrote  the  Queen,  "  did  I  see  such  enormous  crowds  at  night, 
all  in  the  highest  good-humor.  We  literally  drove  through 
a  sea  of  human  beings,  cheering  and  pressing  near  the 
carriage.  The  streets  were  beautifully  illuminated.  There 
were  many  devices  of  N.E.V.A.,  which  the  Emperor  said, 
oddly  enough,  made  'Neva.'  This  seemed  to  have  im- 
pressed him,  for  he  said  he  had  observed  it  before  at  Bou- 
logne." On  entering  the  theatre  the  Queen,  taking  the 
Emperor  by  the  hand,  led  him  forward,  and,  bowing  to 
the  people,  presented  to  them  her  Imperial  guest,  while 
Prince  Albert  led  forward  the  Empress. 

A  visit  was  paid  to  the  Crystal  Palace.  "Nothing," 
the  Queen  wrote,  "could  have  succeeded  better.  Still,  I 
own  I  felt  anxious  as  we  passed  along  through  the  multi- 
tude of  people,  who,  after  all,  were  very  close  to  us.  I  felt, 
as  I  walked  on  the  Emperor's  arm,  that  I  was  possibly  a 
protection  for  him.  All  thoughts  of  nervousness  for  my- 
self were  past ;  I  thought  only  of  him,  and  so  it  is,  Albert 
says,  when  one  forgets  one's  self,  one  loses  his  great  and 
foolish  nervousness." 

Before  their  departure  on  the  following  day,  the  Em- 
peror's last  act  was  to  inscribe  his  name  in  the  Queen's 
album.  "I  am  glad  to  have  known  this  extraordinary 
man,"  she  wrote,  "whom  it  is  certainly  impossible  not 
to  like  when  you  live  with  him,  and  not  even  to  a  con- 
siderable extent  to  admire.  I  believe  him  to  be  capable  of 
kindness,  affection,  friendship,  and  gratitude.  I  feel  con- 
fidence in  him  as  regards  the  future ;  I  think  he  is  frank, 
means  well  towards  us,  and,  as  Stockmar  says,  'that  we 
have  insured  his  sincerity  and  good  faith  towards  us  for 
the  rest  of  his  life. '  Albert  felt  just  as  I  did — much  pleased 
with  everything,  liking  the  Emperor  and  Empress,  and 
being  very  much  interested  in  them." 

The  Queen,  on  May  i8,  1855,  distributed  medals  to  those 
who  had  fought  in  the  Crimea,  and  writing  to  the  King  of 
the  Belgians  of  the  ceremony,  she  said :  "  From  the  high- 
est prince  of  the  blood  to  the  lowest  private,  all  received 
the  same  distinction  for  the  bravest  conduct  in  the  severest 

234 


STIRRING   TIMES    OF    PEACE  AND  WAR 

actions,  and  the  rough  hands  of  the  brave  and  honest 
soldiers  came  for  the  first  time  in  contact  with  the  hand 
of  their  Sovereign  and  Queen.  Noble  fellows  1  I  own  I 
feel  as  if  they  were  my  own  children;  my  heart  beats  for 
them  as  for  my  nearest  and  dearest  I  They  were  so  touched, 
so  pleased — many,  I  hear,  cried;  and  they  won't  hear  of 
giving  up  their  medals  to  have  their  names  engraved  upon 
them,  for  fear  that  they  should  not  receive  the  identical 
ones  put  into  their  hands  by  me!  Several  came  by  in  a 
sadly  mutilated  state.  None  created  more  interest  or  is 
more  gallant  than  young  Sir  Thomas  Troubridge,  who 
had  at  Inkerman  one  leg  and  the  foot  of  the  other  carried 
away  by  a  round-shot,  and  continued  commanding  his 
battery  till  the  battle  was  over,  refusing  to  be  carried  away, 
only  desiring  his  shattered  limbs  to  be  raised  in  order  to 
prevent  too  great  a  hemorrhage!  He  was  dragged  by  in 
a  bath-chair,  and  when  I  gave  him  his  medal  I  told  him 
I  should  make  him  one  of  my  aides-de-camp  for  his  very 
gallant  conduct ;  to  which  he  repHed,  '  I  am  amply  repaid 
for  everything.'  One  must  revere  and  love  such  soldiers 
as  those." 

When  the  news  of  Lord  Raglan's  death  reached  the 
Queen,  she  wrote  to  Lady  Raglan : 

"  Words  cannot  convey  all  I  feel  at  the  irreparable  loss 
you  have  sustained,  and  I  and  the  country  feel  also,  in 
your  noble,  gallant,  and  excellent  husband,  whose  loyalty 
and  devotion  to  his  sovereign  and  country  were  unbound- 
ed. We  both  feel  most  deeply  for  you  and  your  daughters, 
to  whom  this  blow  must  be  most  severe  and  sudden.  He 
was  so  strong,  and  his  health  had  borne  the  bad  climate, 
the  great  fatigues  and  anxieties,  so  well,  ever  since  he 
left  England,  that,  though  we  were  much  alarmed  at 
hearing  of  his  illness,  we  were  full  of  hopes  of  his  speedy 
recovery. 

"We  must  bow  to  the  will  of  God!  But  to  be  taken 
away  thus,  on  the  eve  of  the  successful  result  of  so  much 
labor,  so  much  suffering,  and  so  much  anxiety,  is  hard 
indeed ! 

23s 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

"We  feel  much,  too,  for  the  brave  army,  whom  he  was 
so  proud  of,  and  who  will  be  sadly  cast  down  at  losing 
their  gallant  commander,  who  had  led  them  so  often  to 
victory  and  glory. 

"If  sympathy  can  be  any  consolation  you  have  it,  for 
we  all  have  alike  to  mourn,  and  no  one  more  than  I,  who 
have  lost  a  faithful  and  devoted  servant  in  whom  I  had 
the  greatest  confidence." 

In  August,  1855,  the  Queen  and  Prince  paid  a  visit  to 
Paris.  When  the  royal  yacht  arrived  at  Boulogne,  the 
Emperor  stepped  on  board.  "  He  led  me  on  shore,"  wrote 
the  Queen,  "amid  acclamations,  salutes,  and  every 
sound  of  joy  and  respect.  We  four  [the  Queen,  Prince, 
Prince  of  Wales,  and  Princess  Royal]  entered  a  landau 
carriage  and  drove  through  the  crowded  and  decorated 
streets,  the  Emperor  escorting  us  himself  on  horseback  to 
the  railway  station,  which  was  thronged  with  an  enthusi- 
astic crowd  largely  composed  of  ladies." 

Of  Paris  itself  the  Queen  wrote:  "Imagine  this  beauti- 
ful city,  with  its  broad  streets  and  lofty  houses,  decorated 
in  the  most  tasteful  manner  possible,  with  banners,  flags, 
arches,  flowers,  inscriptions,  and,  finally,  illuminations; 
full  of  people,  lined  with  troops — National  Guards  and 
troops  of  the  line  and  Chasseurs  d'Afrique — beautifully 
kept  and  most  enthusiastic!  And  yet  this  gives  but  a 
faint  notion  of  this  triumph  as  it  was.  There  were  endless 
cries  of  'Vive  la  Reine  d'Angleterre!  Vive  I'Empereur! 
Vive  le  Prince  Albert ! '  The  approaching  twilight  rather 
added  to  the  beauty  of  the  scene,  and  it  was  still  quite  light 
enough  when  we  passed  down  the  new  Boulevard  de  Stras- 
bourg (the  Emperor's  creation)  and  along  the  Boulevards, 
by  the  Porte  Saint-Denis,  the  Madeleine,  the  Place  de  la 
Concorde,  and  the  Arc  de  Triomphe  de  I'^^toile. 

"  In  all  this  blaze  of  light  from  lamps  and  torches,  amid 
the  roar  of  cannon  and  bands  and  drums  and  cheers,  we 
reached  the  palace.  The  Empress,  with  Princess  Mathilde 
and  the  ladies,  received  us  at  the  door,  and  took  us  up  a 
beautiful  staircase  to  our  rooms,  which  are  charming." 

236 


STIRRING   TIMES   OF    PEACE  AND  WAR 

The  Queen  was  delighted  with  the  beauty  of  the  palace. 
"  The  saloons  are  splendid — all  en  suite  ;  they,  as  well  as 
the  court-yard,  staircase,  etc.,  remind  nie  of  Briihl.  The 
ceilings  are  beautifully  painted,  and  the  walls  hung  with 
Gobelins.  The  Salle  de  Mars  is  a  very  noble  room,  and 
opens  into  the  fine  long  gallery  called  La  Salle  de  Diane, 
in  which  we  dined.  Everything  was  magnificent,  and  all 
very  quiet  and  royal.  Marechal  Magnan  told  me  that  such 
enthusiasm  as  we  had  witnessed  had  not  been  known  in 
Paris,  not  even  in  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon's 
triumphs." 

The  next  day  the  Queen  and  Prince  drove  with  the  Em- 
peror and  Empress  to  the  Bois  de  Boulogne,  which  had 
recently  been  transformed  by  the  Emperor  into  the  beauti- 
ful park  which  it  now  is ;  also  to  Neuilly.  "  We  returned 
by  the  banks  of  the  Seine,  which  are  very  pretty,  and  remind 
one  of  Richmond." 

On  Monday,  August  20th,  a  visit  was  paid  to  the  Ex- 
position des  Beaux- Arts.  "The  enthusiasm,"  wrote  the 
Queen,  "  was  very  great,  both  at  the  Exposition  and  in  the 
densely  crowded  streets,  and  the  cries  of  "  Vive  I'Empereur ! 
Vive  la  Reine  d  Angleterre !"  were  very  constant  and  grati- 
fying.    I  was,  of  course,  always  at  the  Emperor's  arm." 

The  party  subsequently  went  to  the  Elysee,  where  the 
whole  Diplomatic  Corps  with  their  wives  were  presented  to 
the  Queen.  Afterwards  the  Queen,  the  Prince,  and  the 
Emperor  drove  in  an  open  carriage  to  the  Sainte  Chapelle 
and  to  the  Palais  de  Justice.  Pointing  to  the  Conciergerie, 
the  Emperor  said,  "  '  Voila  oii  j'^tais  en  prison!'  Strange 
contrast  to  be  driving  with  us  as  Emperor  through  the 
streets  of  the  city  in  triumph!" 

On  Monday,  August  27th,  the  Queen  and  Prince  took 
their  departure  from  Paris.  "  We  started  at  half-past  ten, 
the  Emperor  and  Empress  going  with  us.  I  was  sorely 
grieved  to  leave  this  charming  Saint-Cloud.  Along  the 
whole  route  there  were  immense  crowds,  all  most  friend- 
ly." At  Boulogne  all  the  troops  of  the  camp,  thirty-six 
thousand    infantry,   besides    cavalrj^    lancers,    and    dra- 

237 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

goons,  were  assembled  on  the  sands.  "We  drove  down 
the  Hnes,  which  were  immensely  deep — quite  a  forest  of 
bayonets.  The  effect  they  produced,  with  the  background 
of  the  calm  blue  sea,  and  the  setting  sun,  which  threw  a 
glorious  crimson  light  over  all,  was  magnificent.'' 

The  betrothal  of  the  Princess  Royal  to  Prince  Frederick 
William  of  Prussia  took  place  at  Balmoral  in  September, 
1855.  "  He  had  already  spoken  to  us,"  wrote  the  Queen, 
"  on  the  20th,  of  his  wishes ;  but  we  were  uncertain,  on  ac- 
count of  her  extreme  youth,  whether  he  should  speak  to  her 
himself,  or  wait  till  he  came  back  again.  However,  we 
felt  it  was  better  he  should  do  so,  and  during  our  ride  up 
Craig-na-Ban  this  afternoon  he  picked  a  piece  of  white 
heather  (the  emblem  of  '  good  luck ')  which  he  gave  to  her ; 
and  this  enabled  him  to  make  an  allusion  to  his  hopes  and 
wishes  as  they  rode  down  Glen  Girnock,  which  led  to  this 
happy  conclusion." 

The  foundation  stone  of  Netley  Hospital  was  laid  by  the 
Queen  in  May,  1856.  Referring  to  the  ceremony  in  a  letter 
to  the  King  of  the  Belgians,  she  spoke  of  the  hospital  as 
"  the  first  of  the  kind  in  this  country,  and  which  is  to  bear 
my  name  and  be  one  of  the  finest  in  Europe.  Loving  my 
dear  brave  army  as  I  do,  and  having  seen  so  many  of  my 
poor  sick  and  wounded  soldiers,  I  shall  watch  over  this 
work  with  maternal  anxiety." 

Princess  Beatrice  was  born  on  April  14th.  "  She  is  to 
be  called  Beatrice,"  the  Queen  wrote;  "a  fine  old  name, 
borne  by  three  of  the  Plantagenet  princesses,  and  her 
other  names  will  be  Mary  (after  poor  Aunt  Mary),  Victoria 
(after  mamma  and  Vicky,  who  with  Fritz  Wilhelm  are  to 
be  sponsors),  and  Feodore  (the  Queen's  half-sister).  1  hope 
you  approve  the  choice." 

The  title  of  "Prince  Consort"  was  conferred  on  the 
Prince  by  Royal  Letters  Patent  on  June  25,  1857. 

"You  know  that  people  call  Albert  'Prince  Consort,'  " 
wrote  the  Queen  to  King  Leopold,  "  but  it  never  has  been 
given  him  as  a  title,  so  I  intend  to  confer  it  on  him  by  Letters 
Patent,  just  as  I  conferred  the  precedence  on  him  in  1840. 

238 


STIRRING   TIMES   OF    PEACE  AND  WAR 

You  remember  how  awkward  his  position  was  in  Germany, 
having  none  but  a  foreign  title;  and  besides,  I  think  it  is 
wrong  that  my  husband  should  not  have  an  English  title. 
I  should  have  preferred  its  being  done  by  Act  of  Parliament, 
and  so  it  may  still  be  at  some  future  period;  but  it  was 
thought  better  upon  the  whole  to  do  it  now  in  this  simple 
way." 

"The  evening  was  splendid,"  wrote  the  Queen  in  her 
Diary,  on  August  19, 1857,  of  a  visit  that  she  paid  to  Cher- 
bourg. "  The  sea  like  oil,  and  the  sun  throwing  over  every- 
thing a  beautiful  golden  light.  The  breakwater  at  Cher- 
bourg is  of  great  extent,  and  extensive  works  are  going  on 
all  around ;  the  only  shipping,  two  or  three  small  trading- 
vessels.  The  small  town  is  picturesquely  situated,  with 
an  old  church,  a  fort  with  a  high  cliff  commanding  it  on 
one  side,  and  hills  rising  behind  the  town,  very  like  Ehren- 
breitstein.  Albert  landed,  and  afterwards  the  naval  au- 
thorities came  on  board  and  had  dinner  with  us.  Gen- 
eral d'Herbillon,  the  Inspector  of  Infantry,  who  had  been 
in  the  Crimea  and  distinguished  himself  there,  was  making 
a  tour  of  inspection  at  Cherbourg.  He  was  extremely 
civil,  expressing  his  thanks  'for  the  great  favors  given 
by  your  Majesty'  in  sending  him  the  Companionship  of 
the  Bath, '  the  star  of  which  I  wear  with  great  pride. '  His 
aide-de-camp  had  also  been  with  him  in  the  Crimea.  There 
was  also  General  Borel  de  Bretizel,  commanding  the  troops 
here,  who  turned  out  to  be  an  old  acquaintance,  we  having 
seen  him  with  Nemours  at  our  fancy  ball  in  1845.  It  was 
strange.  After  a  few  civil  speeches  they  returned,  and 
we  went  below. 

"Next  morning  at  half-past  eight  all  the  fortresses 
saluted  and  the  Consul  arrived,  and  Albert,  to  my  great 
delight,  has  consented  to  remain  here  to-night,  so  that  we 
might  visit  an  old  chateau.  Presently  the  Admiral  ar- 
rived, and  preceded  us  in  a  fine  large  boat,  we  following 
with  the  three  eldest  children  and  the  ladies  and  gentle- 
men (the  three  youngest  remaining  to  go  on  shore  with  the 
governesses) .     Rowed  up  under  salutes  and  the  well-known 

239 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER   LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

fanfare  or  battre  aux  armes  of  the  different  guards  of  honor. 
The  reception  was  half  private — no  troops  being  drawn 
up — but  all  the  generals  and  officers  of  different  kinds  were 
there;  General  Borel,  in  high  boots  and  on  horseback, 
riding  near  our  carriage.  We  and  the  two  girls  were  in  the 
Admiral's  little  open  carriage,  the  ladies  and  gentlemen 
and  ofi&cers,  in  others,  following.  The  docks  and  bassins, 
of  which  there  are  three  enormous  ones  in  course  of  con- 
struction, are  magnificent,  formed  of  the  finest  granite  of 
the  country,  and  all  executed  in  the  best  manner. 

"It  makes  me  very  unhappy  to  see  what  is  done  here, 
and  how  well  protected  the  works  are,  for  the  forts  and  the 
breakwater  (which  is  treble  the  size  of  the  Plymouth  one) 
are  extremely  well  defended.  We  got  out  twice  to  examine 
the  construction  and  look  at  the  enormous  depth  of  the 
docks.  There  are  at  least  eight  thousand  workmen  em- 
ployed, and  already  millions  have  been  spent.  The  works 
were  commenced  in  the  time  of  Louis  XIV.  We  then  pro- 
ceeded to  the  town,  leaving  the  arsenal  and  fortifications, 
and  passing  by  the  Corderie  (rope  manufactory),  and  as- 
cended a  hill  outside  the  town.  The  town  itself  is  very 
picturesque,  but  small,  humble,  and  thoroughly  foreign- 
looking;  streets  narrow,  pavement  bad;  all  the  windows, 
without  exception,  casements,  opening  quite  back,  leaving 
the  whole  space  open,  as  if  there  were  no  windows,  and 
■  with  outside  shutters." 

In  1857  occurred  the  great  Indian  mutiny.  No  one  could 
tell  the  exact  origin  of  the  outbreak.  Several  reasons  were 
given,  but  the  cause  which  found  most  credence  was  that 
the  natives  in  the  army  had  been  persuaded  that  the  British 
desired  to  destroy  caste  by  making  the  soldiers  bite  off  the 
paper  ends  of  cartridges  (to  get  the  powder  to  pour  down 
the  barrels),  which  had  been  dipped  in  animal  fat,  thus 
defiling  the  True  Believer.  It  was  said,  also,  that  an  act 
passed  by  the  Indian  government  that  no  man  should  lose 
his  property  on  account  of  changing  his  religion  had  given 
great  anxiety  to  the  native  priests.  Another  interference 
with  their  faith  was  alleged  in  the  permission  given  to  the 

240 


THE    QUEEN    WITH    H.K.H.    THE    PRINCE    CONSORT   IN    1860 


STIRRING   TIMES    OF    PEACE  AND  WAR 

Hindoo  widows  to  marry  a  second  time.     Then  the  king- 
dom of  Oude  had  been  annexed,  which  was  supposed  by 
some  Indian  feudatory  princes  to  be  the  precursor  of  the 
abohtion  of  their  own  sovereignty,  and  led  the  Mohammedan 
chiefs  to  make  common  cause  with  the  Hindoos.     What-  . 
ever  the  cause,  it  was  evident  that  Great  Britain  would  f 
lose  her  Indian  empire  unless  measures  were  quickly  taken  f . 
to  reinforce  the  troops.     Lord  Canning  was  the  Viceroy.  / 
He  represented  in  the  strongest  terms  the  dangers  of  the 
situation.     Sir  George  Grey,  at  the  Cape,  without  orders 
and  with  great  presence  of  mind,  sent  troops  intended  for^ 
his  colony  on  to  Calcutta.     Lord  Elgin  did  the  same  withj 
troops  destined  for  China.     Calcutta  breathed  again.     Butl 
no  one  knew  how  far  disaffection  extended.     The  Gover-\ 
nor-General  himself,  in  the  vast  palace  at  Calcutta,  could  \ 
not  depend  on  the  loyalty  of  the  armed  natx.e  soldiers 
who  rode  before  his  carriage  and  mounted   guard  at  the 
steps  of  his  portico.     Everywhere  there  was  suspicion. 

But  England  was  fortunate  in  the  men  who  had  to  meet 
the  storm.  John  and  Henry  Lawrence,  in  the  Upper 
Provinces,  were  both  trained  to  Indian  service,  and  had 
the  confidence  and  love  of  many  among  the  natives.  It 
was  John  who  saved  the  Northwest.  It  was  Henry  who 
valiantly  defended  his  post  and  died  there  in  the  Residency 
of  Lucknow. 

The  British  officers  of  the  Sepoy  army  could  hardly  be 
persuaded  that  their  regiments  were  disloyal.  They 
deemed  it  impossible  until  convincing  proof  came.  But 
proofs  appeared  soon  enough  in  open  mutiny  or  sedition, 
betrayed  by  the  loyal  few  to  the  authorities.  A  European 
officer  was  murdered  at  Barrackpore.  Then  began  the 
disbanding  of  suspected  battalions,  and  at  Meerut  the 
conspiracy  flamed  out,  to  be  followed  by  a  massacre  of 
white  men  at  Delhi.  At  Lucknow,  Cawnpore,  Benares, 
Bareilly,  Allahabad,  and  other  places  the  Sepoys  rebelled, 
in  many  cases  murdering  all  the  white  women  and  children 
they  could  find.  IVIost  of  the  rebels  went  to  Delhi.  Very 
many  others   were  disarmed,   and   wherever  there  were 

Q  241 


VICTORIA  R.  I.   HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

British  forces  this  step  was  carried  out.  A  frequently  used 
method  was  to  order  a  parade,  when  the  natives  found  them- 
selves face  to  face  with  the  British  force,  their  muskets 
loaded,  and  the  guns  ready  to  fire,  and  surrender  then 
became  inevitable.  Thus  at  Meean  Meer,  close  to  Lahore, 
there  were  quartered  three  native  infantry  regiments  and 
one  of  cavalry,  with  the  8 1st  British  Regiment  and  some 
artillery.  It  came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  commanding 
officer  that  there  was  a  plot  to  seize  the  fort  of  Lahore,  open 
the  jail,  and  massacre  all  Europeans.  A  ball  was  being 
given  by  the  British  residents  to  the  officers  of  the  8ist. 
It  was  resolved  to  let  the  ball  proceed,  the  better  to  lull  the 
natives'  suspicions.  Next  morning  all  troops  w^ere  sum- 
moned, as  though  to  hear  a  general  order  read.  The 
Sepoys  were  drawn  up  two  thousand  five  hundred  strong, 
and  in  their  rear  were  five  companies  of  the  Queen's  regi- 
ment, with  the  guns.  The  adjutant  stepped  to  the  front 
of  the  whole  line,  and  read  a  statement  of  reasons  why  dis- 
armament should  be  enforced.  When  the  order  was  given 
to  pile  arms,  it  was  not  instantly  obeyed,  and  the  8 1st  were 
ordered  to  load.  The  guns  were  ready  to  pour  in  grape, 
and  seeing  this  the  natives  sullenly  gave  up  their  arms. 

Sir  John  Lawrence's  proclamation  to  the  Hindoos  of  the 
army  of  the  Punjaub  warned  them  plainly  of  their  danger. 
The  rajahs  of  Puttiala  and  of  Jheend  quickly  backed  the 
w^ords  of  Sir  John  Lawrence  by  appearing  as  allies  of  the 
British  before  the  walls  of  Delhi.  Punishment  overtook 
the  rebels  in  manj^^  places.  We  were  in  no  mood  to  spare 
traitors  and  fanatics  who  had  murdered  women  and  chil- 
dren. Numbers  were  blown  away  from  guns,  a  quicker 
death  than  that  by  hanging.  The  Sikhs  worked  loyally 
on  our  side,  although  many  among  them  remembered  the 
battles  in  which  we  obtained  so  hard  a  victory  over  them. 

As  the  mutiny  spread  it  was  evident  that  the  Bengal 

{  army  was  the  centre  of  disaffection.     In  Central  India 

\  there  were  also  insurgents,  but  in  Bombay  and  Madras 

^presidencies  it  soon  appeared  evident  that  the  risings  would 

Lot  be  serious.     Everywhere  throughout  Bengal  the  same 

I  242 

/ 


STIRRING   TIMES   OF    PEACE  AND  WAR 

scenes  were  repeated.  At  almost  every  military  station 
there  were  first  the  whispers  of  trouble,  then  some  overt 
act  which  showed  how  true  the  rumors  were,  then  the 
flight  of  women  and  children  to  some  place  where  they  too 
often  hoped  in  vain  for  safety,  and  then  the  outbreak,  the 
shooting  of  ofi&cers,  the  pillaging  of  cantonments,  and  too 
often  the  successful  siege  of  some  poor  refuge,  and  the 
massacre  of  all  within  it. 

At  Cawnpore  the  most  ghastly  of  all  these  events  took 
place  at  the  bidding  of  the  infamous  Nana  Sahib.  The 
sight  of  the  prison,  splashed  with  the  blood  of  the  defence- 
less babes  and  women,  drove  our  people  to  fury,  so  that  no 
quarter  was  given  when  the  rebels  fell  into  our  hands. 

The  beginning  of  the  advance  of  the  British  in  force  was 
made  under  General  Havelock.  The  work  before  him  was 
hard.  He  had  only  two  thousand  men.  Cawnpore  was 
taken  shortly  after  the  massacre.  Lucknow  was  fully  in- 
vested by  the  Sepoys.  Inglis,  who  was  in  command  of 
the  Residency,  wrote :  "  It  is  impossible  for  me  to  leave 
my  defences.  I  have  one  hundred  and  twenty  sick  and 
wounded,  and  two  hundred  and  twenty  women,  and  no 
carriage  of  any  description.  I  shall  put  my  force  on  half 
rations.  No  time  must  be  lost  in  pushing  forward  if  you 
wish  to  save  us.  We  are  daily  attacked  by  the  enemy, 
who  are  within  a  few  yards  of  our  defences.  Their  mines 
have  already  weakened  our  post,  and  they  are  carrying 
on  other  mines.  Their  eighteen-pounder  guns  are  within 
one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  of  some  of  our  batteries. 
We  cannot  reply  to  them.  Therefore  the  damage  is  very 
great.  My  strength  in  Europeans  is  now  three  hundred 
and  fifty,  and  three  hundred  natives,  the  men  dreadfully 
harassed,  and,  owing  to  part  of  the  Residency  having  been 
brought  down  by  round-shot,  many  are  without  shelter. 
If  our  native  force,  who  are  losing  confidence,  leave  us,  I 
do  not  know  how  the  defences  are  to  be  manned." 

Meanwhile  the  main  body  of  the  rebels  in  Delhi  had  to] 
be  dispersed.  The  city  was  strongly  walled  by  a  succes-/ 
sion  of  bastioned  fronts,  the  connecting  wall,  or  curtain/ 

243  ^ 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

being  very  long.  The  bastions  usually  had  six  guns 
each.  The  long  array  of  the  main  walls  was  from  sixteen 
to  twenty  feet  high,  with  a  musketry  shelter  at  top.  There 
was  a  deep  ditch  in  front.  The  Jumna  River  flowed  by 
the  city.  Our  batteries  began  the  bombardment  at  one 
thousand  two  hundred  yards  distance.  The  Sepoys  tried 
to  harass  our  lines,  but  were  always  driven  back.  Gradu- 
ally, with  the  help  of  the  Sikhs,  the  outlying  buildings 
were  one  by  one  taken.  On  a  blazing  day  in  June  oc- 
curred the  anniversary  of  the  great  victory  bj^-  Clive  at 
Plassy,  and  there  was  a  prophecy  that  the  British  Raj  or 
rule  should  then  cease.  The  garrison  came  out  and  at- 
tacked in  force.  This  effort  of  the  enemy  was  repulsed. 
One  side  of  the  city  being  open  to  the  enemy,  fresh  forces 
were  constantly  coming,  and  their  arrival  was  usually  an- 
nounced by  fresh  attacks.  In  August  four  of  the  rebel 
guns  were  captured,  but  this  fight  alone  cost  us  one 
hundred  and  thirteen  officers  and  men.  Then  General 
Nicholson,  a  magnificent  soldier,  fated  to  give  his  life 
during  the  siege,  came  in  with  a  column  of  two  thou- 
sand five  hundred  men,  who  had  been  employed  in  attack- 
ing and  chasing  bodies  of  the  rebels  in  the  Punjaub.  He 
was  able  to  crush  a  turning  movement  attempted  by  the 
enemy  with  heavy  loss.  Now  came  the  time  for  the  as- 
saults upon  the  walls.  Four  columns  were  to  storm  the 
city  in  different  places.  A  party  of  men  with  powder  bags 
advanced  against  the  Cashmere  gate,  and,  in  face  of  a 
furious  fire,  blew  it  in.  It  was  a  most  gallant  deed.  A 
bugle  announced  the  success  to  the  32  d  Regiment,  wait- 
ing for  the  signal.  They  rushed  through  the  splintered 
gate.  The  first  column  assaulted  a  breach  in  the  curtain 
wall  near  the  Cashmere  gate.  Part  entered  by  escalade, 
and  the  rest  rushed  up  the  breach.  The  second  column, 
again  attacking  at  a  breach  near  the  water  gate,  succeeded 
and  took  possession  of  a  large  section  of  the  ramparts,  and 
turned  again  upon  the  enemy.  Colonel  Campbell  led  the 
third  column,  and  attacked  the  great  mosque,  the  "  Jumma 
Musjid,"  but  could  not  scale  this,  for  all  openings  were 

244 


STIRRING   TIMES   OF    PEACE  AND  WAR 

bricked  up,  and  a  very  heavy  fire  poured  on  them  from 
guns  which  they  could  not  silence. 

The  fourth  column  was  not  successful.  The  Cashmere 
troops,  forming  part  of  it,  were  beaten  back,  and  lost  four 
guns.  The  position,  held  by  strong  batteries,  was  almost 
impregnable.  The  cavalry,  during  these  attacks,  prevent- 
ed sorties  designed  to  take  us  in  rear.  But  the  fighting 
continued,  though  the  walls  were  pierced.  General  Wilson 
wrote  to  Calcutta  of  these  days :  "  From  the  time  of  our 
first  entering  the  city,  an  uninterrupted  and  vigorous  fire 
from  our  guns  and  mortars  was  kept  up  on  the  palace, 
Jumma  Musjid,  and  important  posts  in  possession  of  the 
rebels,  and,  as  we  took  up  our  various  positions  in  advance, 
our  light  guns  and  mortars  were  brought  forward  and 
used  with  effect  on  houses  and  streets.  This  firing  brought 
about  the  evacuation  of  the  city.  The  king  fled  from  the 
palace,  and  the  troops  from  all  defences.  The  old  king 
and  his  two  sons  were  captured." 

Then  came  the  advance  on  Lucknow,  which  had  held 
out  with  little  hope,  but  with  unfaltering  gallantry.  With 
equal  courage  Havelock  rushed  on  through  streets  lined 
with  loopholed  houses,  until  the  Residency  was  entered. 
Sir  Henry  Lawrence  had  been  killed.  The  forces  of  Have- 
lock were  strong  enough  to  prolong  the  defence,  but  were 
not  numerous  enough  to  raise  the  siege.  They,  in  turn, 
were  hemmed  in.  But  with  the  increase  in  the  forces  of 
the  rebels  came  the  time  when  England's  aid  for  her  sorely 
pressed  Indian  army  should  reach  Calcutta.  Eighty 
transports  brought  thirty  thousand  men.  At  their  head 
was  the  old  Peninsula  veteran,  Sir  Colin  Campbell.  This 
officer  was  very  popular  in  the  army,  and  beloved  by  the 
Highlanders.  He  was  the  son  of  poor  parents,  and  his 
father  lived  at  Bunessan,  in  Mull. 

Sir  Colin  made  short  work  of  the  "  Pandies,"  as  the  rebels 
were  called,  after  the  name  of  one  of  the  first  of  the  mutineers. 
He  concentrated  forces  at  Cawnpore,  and  marched  thence, 
on  November  9th,  to  effect  the  relief  of  the  imprisoned  gar- 
rison of  the  Residency  at  Lucknow.     Since  Havelock  had 

245 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

reached  them,  only  to  be  shut  up  in  his  turn,  they  had 
fought  wonderfully,  but  could  make  no  impression  on 
the  ring  of  their  adversaries,  whose  shot  and  cannon-balls 
incessantly  wrought  death  among  them.  Avoiding  the 
approach  through  the  widely  built  city.  Sir  Colin  took  the 
troops  round  to  the  right,  and  then  attacked  one  after  the 
other  the  Dilkoosha  Park  and  the  Martini  ere,  a  suburban 
school  institute.  Another  large  enclosure,  called  the 
Secundra  Bagh,  was  next  successully  assaulted,  and  then 
a  large-domed  mosque,  with  its  garden,  was  taken,  the 
naval  brigade  helping  much  with  the  fire  of  ship  guns, 
which  they  had  taken  up-country  with  them.  "Then," 
as  Sir  Colin  wTote,  "  the  troops  finally  pressed  forward  with 
great  vigor,  and  lined  the  wall  separating  the  mess-house 
[another  detached  enclosure]  from  the  Motee  Mahal,  which 
consists  of  a  wide  compound  and  many  buildings.  The 
enemy  here  made  a  last  stand,  which  was  overcome  after 
an  hour,  openings  having  been  broken  in  the  wall,  through 
which  the  troops  poured,  with  a  body  of  sappers,  and  ac- 
complished our  communication  with  the  Residency.  I 
had  the  inexpressible  satisfaction  shortly  afterwards  of 
greeting  Sir  James  Outram  and  Sir  Henry  Havelock,  who 
came  out  to  meet  me  before  the  action  was  at  an  end."  To 
remove  the  sick  and  wounded  a  line  of  military  posts  was 
maintained  against  the  frequent  attacks  of  the  enemy. 
The  Residency'-  was  evacuated.  The  guns  that  could  not 
be  taken  away  were  destroyed.  "Each  exterior  line  of 
troops  gradually  retired  through  its  supports,  till,  at  length, 
nothing  remained  but  the  last  line  of  infantry,  with  which 
I  was  myself  to  crush  the  enemy  if  he  dared  to  follow." 
Thus  Sir  Colin  wrote  of  a  retirement  admirablj'^  carried 
out  under  great  danger  and  enormous  difficulty.  At  Fut- 
tegurh  Sir  Colin  effected  a  junction  with  a  column  under 
Walpole.  Sir  Jung  Bahadur,  with  a  bodj^  of  Nepaul  troops, 
gave  most  valuable  help  to  the  British.  At  Lucknow,  our 
troops  took  one  hundred  and  twenty  guns.  In  April  of 
1858  we  lost  the  leader  of  the  naval  brigade,  the  gallant  Peel. 
Disease  had  taken  many,  but  their  places  were  more  than 

246 


STIRRING   TIMES   OF   PEACE  AND  WAR 

filled  by  drafts  from  home.  The  Governor-General,  hoping 
to  limit  the  work  still  to  be  done  in  suppressing  the  mutiny, 
issued  a  proclamation  promising  life  and  honor  to  those 
who  might  at  once  surrender,  rewarded  some  landholders 
in  the  old  Oude  kingdom  by  making  their  rights  heredi- 
tary, and  announced  that  the  land  was  now  confiscated  to 
the  British  government.  This  proclamation  was  abused 
at  home  for  the  last-mentioned  measure,  and  was  blamed 
in  India  as  shutting  the  door  on  vengeance.  "  Clemency  " 
Canning  was  the  nickname  Lord  Canning  won  by  this 
procedure,  a  name  that  his  friends  were  proud  to  see  given 
to  him. 

Sir  Hugh  Rose,  afterwards  Lord  Strathnaim,  was  operat- 
ing in  central  India,  punishing  the  rebels  with  the  greatest 
severity,  and  blowing  hundreds  from  his  guns.  He  spared 
none  taken  in  arms.  He  rode  faster  and  farther  than  could 
any  of  his  officers.  Undaunted  by  sunstroke,  want  of 
food,  and  difficulties,  he  must  have  seemed  an  avenging 
spirit  to  the  mutineers.  Jhansi  was  stonned  by  him.  He 
beat  them  at  Gwalior  and  Calpee.  Campbell  took  up  the 
work  again.  Sir  James  Outram  had  remained  at  the 
Alumbagh,  near  Lucknow,  and  could  not  be  dislodged 
by  the  frequent  attacks  of  the  enemy.  Sir  Colin  advancing, 
relieved  him.  The  city  was  thoroughly  conquered,  and 
the  important  post  of  Bareilly  was  captured.  Everywhere 
success  attended  the  main  force  and  the  flying  columns. 
Sir  Colin  was  made  Lord  Clyde,  Oude  was  pacified  by  his 
victorious  arms,  and  the  great  Indian  mutiny  was  over. 

The  marriage  of  the  Princess  Royal  was  solemnized  on 
January  25,  1858. 

"Such  a  house  full,"  wrote  the  Queen,  "such  bustle  and 
excitement!  After  dinner  a  party  and  a  very  gay  and 
pretty  dance.  It  was  very  animated,  all  the  princes  dan- 
cing. Albert  did  not  waltz.  Ernest  [Duke  of  Coburg]  said 
it  seemed  like  a  dream  to  him  to  see  Vicky  dance  as  a  bride, 
just  as  I  did  eighteen  years  ago ;  and  I  still  (so  he  said)  look- 
ing very  young.  In  1840  poor  dear  papa  [the  late  Duke  of 
Coburg]  danced  with  me  as  Ernest  danced  with  Vicky." 

247 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

"January  2Sth. 

"The  second  most  eventful  day  in  my  life  as  regards 
feelings.  I  felt  as  if  I  were  being  married  over  again  my- 
self, only  much  more  nervous,  for  I  had  not  that  blessed 
feeling  which  I  had  then,  which  raises  and  supports  one, 
of  giving  myself  up  for  life  to  him  whom  I  loved  and  wor- 
shipped then  and  ever." 

When  all  was  ready  for  proceeding  to  the  Chapel  Royal 
at  St.  James's  Palace,  the  Queen  and  Crown  Princess  were 
daguerreotyped  together  with  the  Prince,  "but,"  says  the 
Queen,  "  I  trembled  so,  my  likeness  has  come  out  indistinct. 
Then  came  the  time  to  go.  The  sun  was  shining  brightly ; 
thousands  had  been  out  since  very  early,  shouting,  bells 
ringing,  etc.  Albert  and  uncle,  in  field-marshal's  uniform 
with  batons,  and  the  two  eldest  boys,  went  first.  Then 
the  three  girls  in  pink  satin  trimmed  with  Newport  lace, 
Alice  with  a  wreath,  and  the  two  others  with  only  bou- 
quets in  their  hair  of  cornflowers  and  marguerites.  Next 
the  four  boys  in  Highland  dress.  The  hall  full.  The 
flourish  of  trumpets  and  cheering  of  thousands  made  my 
heart  sink  within  me.  Vicky  was  in  the  carriage  with  me, 
sitting  opposite.  At  St.  James's  took  her  into  a  dressing- 
room  prettily  arranged,  where  were  uncle,  Albert,  and  the 
eight  bridesmaids,  who  looked  charming  in  white  tulle 
with  wreaths  and  bouquets  of  pink  roses  and  white  heather. 
Went  into  the  gallery,  where  mamma  (looking  so  hand- 
some in  violet  velvet  trimmed  with  ermine,  and  white  silk 
and  violet)  and  the  Cambridges  were.  All  the  foreign 
princes  and  princesses,  except  uncle,  the  Prince  of  Prussia, 
and  Prince  Albert  of  Prussia,  were  already  in  the  chapel. 

"Then  the  procession  was  formed,  just  as  at  my  mar- 
riage, only  how  small  the  fonner  royal  family  has  be- 
come! Mamma  last  before  me — then  Lord  Palmerston 
with  the  sword  of  State — then  Bertie  and  Alfred,  I  with  the 
two  little  boys  on  either  side,  and  the  three  girls  behind. 
The  effect  was  very  solemn  and  impressive  as  we  passed 
through  the  rooms,  down  the  staircase,  and  across  a  cov- 
ered in  court. 

248 


Vv 


THE    QUEEN    IN    1S55 


STIRRING  TIMES   OF    PEACE  AND  WAR 

"  The  chapel,  though  too  small,  looked  extremely  impos- 
ing and  well — full  as  it  was  of  so  many  elegantly  dressed 
ladies,  uniforms,  etc.  The  Archbishop  at  the  altar,  and 
on  either  side  of  it  the  ro3^al  personages.  Fritz  looked 
pale  and  much  agitated,  but  behaved  with  the  greatest  self- 
possession,  bowing  to  us,  and  then  kneeling  down  in  a 
most  devotional  manner. 

"Then  came  the  bride's  procession,  and  our  darling 
flower  looked  very  touching  and  lovely,  with  such  an  in- 
nocent, confident,  and  serious  expression,  her  veil  hanging 
back  over  her  shoulders,  walking  between  her  beloved  father 
and  dearest  Uncle  Leopold,  who  had  been  at  her  christen- 
ing and  confirmation,  and  was  himself  the  widower  of 
Princess  Charlotte,  heiress  to  the  throne  of  this  country — 
Albert's  and  my  uncle,  mamma's  brother,  and  one  of  the 
wisest  kings  in  Europe! 

"  My  last  fear  of  being  overcome  vanished  on  seeing 
Vicky's  quiet,  calm,  and  composed  manner.  It  was 
beautiful  to  see  her  kneeling  with  Fritz,  their  hands  joined, 
and  the  train  borne  by  the  eight  young  ladies,  who  looked 
like  a  cloud  of  maidens  hovering  round  her,  as  they  knelt 
near  her.  Dearest  Albert  took  her  by  the  hand  to  give  her 
awaj^;  reminded  me  vividly  of  having  in  the  same  way 
proudly,  tenderly,  confidently^,  most  lovingly  knelt  by  him 
on  this  very  spot,  and  having  our  hands  joined  there. 
The  music  was  very  fine,  the  Archbishop  very  ner\'ous. 
Fritz  spoke  very  plainl}',  Vicky  too. 

"  When  the  ceremony  was  over  we  both  embraced  Vicky 
tenderly,  but  she  shed  not  one  tear,  and  then  vshe  kissed  her 
grandmother,  and  I  Fritz.  She  then  went  up  to  her  new 
parents,  and  we  crossed  over  to  the  dear  Prince  and  Princess, 
who  were  both  much  moved,  Albert  shaking  hands  with 
them  and  I  kissing  both  and  pressing  their  hands  with  a 
most  happy  feeling.     My  heart  was  so  full. 

"Then  the  bride  and  bridegroom  left  hand -in -hand, 
followed  by  the  supporters,  the  '  Wedding  March '  by  Men- 
delssohn being  played,  and  we  all  went  up  to  the  Throne 
Room  to  sign  the  register.     The  young  couple  first  signed, 

249 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

then  the  parents  of  both,  and  all  the  princes  and  princesses 
present,  including  the  Maharajah  Dhuleep  Singh,  who 
had  come  in,  resplendent  with  pearls.  I  felt  so  moved, 
so  overjoyed  and  relieved,  that  I  could  have  embraced  ev- 
erybody." 

The  following  letter  from  the  Queen  will  be  of  interest 
here: 

"  Buckingham  Palace,  February  4,  1858. 

"Your  very  kind  and  feeling  letter  touched  us  both 
much.  Tuesday  [marriage  of  the  Princess  Royal]  was  a 
dreadful  day,  and  she  [the  Princess]  also  writes:  'Nobody 
knows  how  I  suffered  leaving  you.  I  can  survive  anything 
since  I  have  gone  through  to-day.'  She  says  her  whole 
comfort  is  in  her  husband,  whose  kindness  she  cannot 
describe.  The  passage  was  excellent,  and  the  delay  in 
arriving  at  Antwerp  was  an  advantage,  as  it  gave  her  a 
day's  quiet  and  fresh  air,  which  always  restores  her. 

"We  have  had  most  affectionate  letters  from  both  this 
morning,  written  on  board,  and  have  heard  of  their  de- 
parture from  Brussels,  but  the  blank  seems  to  me  at  times 
unbearable.     I  feel  quite  bowed  down  for  a  moment  by  it. 

"My  dearest  husband,  too,  who  loves  his  dear  child  so 
much,  and  is  worshipped  by  her,  feels  it  very  much,  but  he 
never  thinks  of  himself.  You  can  so  well  enter  into  my 
feelings,  as  you  have  gone  through  the  same,  though  you 
never  had  such  a  distant  separation  as  is  ours." 

The  Prince  wrote  to  his  daughter  at  Berlin  on  February 
II,  1858:  "You  have  now  entered  upon  your  new  home, 
and  been  received  and  welcomed  on  all  sides  with  the  great- 
est friendship  and  cordiality.  This  kindly  and  trustful 
advance  of  a  whole  nation  towards  an  entire  stranger  must 
have  kindled  and  confirmed  within  you  the  determination 
to  show  yourself  in  every  way  worthy  of  such  feelings, 
and  to  reciprocate  and  requite  them  by  the  steadfast  res- 
olution to  devote  the  whole  energies  of  your  life  to  this 
people  of  your  new  home. 

"  To  Him  who  has  shaped  everything  so  happily,  I  am 
grateful  from  the  very  depths  of  my  soul  for  the  happy 

250 


STIRRING   TIMES    OF    PEACE  AND  WAR 

climax  to  the  most  important  period  of  your  life.  Dear 
child,  I  would  fain  have  been  in  the  crowd  to  see  your  en- 
trance, and  to  hear  what  the  multitude  said  of  you;  so, 
too,  is  it  with  mamma.  We  are,  however,  kept  admirably 
informed  of  everything  by  the  telegraph  and  post  and 
papers.  The  telegraph  must  have  been  amazed  when  it 
wrote:  'The  whole  royal  family  is  enchanted  with  my 
wife.— F.  W.'" 

Meantime,  Lord  Palmerston,  according  to  his  previous- 
ly expressed  purpose,  brought  in  a  measure  for  consolidat- 
ing the  government  of  India  under  the  Crown,  and  carried 
it  by  a  majority  of  one  hundred  and  forty-five.  He  seemed 
to  stand  in  a  sure  place,  and  was  himself  at  the  height  of 
his  personal  popularity;  and  yet,  in  a  few  days,  he  was 
suddenly  hurled  from  power. 

On  January  14,  1858,  an  attempt  was  made  to  assas- 
sinate Napoleon  III.  by  a  gang  of  desperadoes,  headed 
by  Orsini,  whose  headquarters  had  previously  been  in 
London.  Not  without  reason,  it  was  felt  in  France  that 
such  men  ought  not  to  be  able  to  find  shelter  in  this  country. 
The  French  Ambassador  spoke  in  London  to  this  effect, 
and  Lord  Palmerston  w^as  anxious  to  meet  the  French  half- 
way, and  desired  to  make  England  a  less  comfortable 
abode  for  assassins. 

But  at  this  moment  the  ofi&cers  of  the  French  army, 
who  were  received  by  their  Emperor  in  a  deputation,  ir- 
ritated by  the  attempt  against  his  life,  used  language 
which  was  received  with  resentment  by  the  English  Press. 
Lord  Palmerston  s  bill  had  been  read  a  first  time,  but  the 
popular  opinion  changing  enabled  Lord  Derby  to  move 
an  amendment  to  the  second  reading,  which  was  carried 
against  Lord  Palmerston,  who  resigned. 

Lord  Palmerston  visited  Louis  Napoleon  and  the  Em- 
press, and  said  of  his  hosts:  "They  were  all  very  civil 
and  courteous,  and  the  Emperor  told  me  his  ideas  with 
regard  to  giving  the  unenfranchised  the  power  to  vote." 

251 


i 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE    DEATH    OF    THE    PRINCE    CONSORT 

The  year  1861  was  a  terrible  one  for  the  Queen.  It 
began  with  the  death  of  her  mother,  the  Duchess  of  Kent. 

Frogmore,  a  pleasant  house  situated  among  the  oaks 
and  shrubberies  in  Windsor  Home  Park,  at  the  foot  of 
the  slope  to  the  south  of  the  castle,  had  been  the  home 
of  the  Duchess  since  the  marriage  of  her  daughter  with 
Prince  Albert.  At  first  the  Duchess  was  very  often  near 
her,  and  accordingly  enjoyed  the  little  parties  she  was  able 
to  give  when  her  daughter  could  be  her  guest.  She  was 
a  woman  most  kindly  and  generous  and  excellent.  To 
children  she  was  always  most  hospitable,  dehghting  in 
nothing  more  than  a  large  party  at  which  young  people 
could  enjoy  themselves. 

At  a  ball  she  gave  shortly  before  her  death  she  invited 
many  Eton  boys,  who  had  been  told  that  if  they  were 
kept  by  the  Duchess  longer  than  a  certain  hour  at  night 
they  would  be  excused  from  morning  chapel.  Several  of 
us  had  determined  to  be  excused  this  chapel  service  if 
possible.  We  enjoyed  ourselves  much,  especially  a  quaint 
country  dance  called  "The  Grandfather,"  in  which  the 
Queen  and  Prince  danced  as  gayly  as  anybody,  and  we  all 
jumped  over  the  handkerchief  they  and  their  partners  held, 
this  being  one  of  the  figures  of  the  dance,  which  made  each 
couple  in  turn  hold  a  handkerchief  and  go  down  the  line 
making  the  others  jump  over  it. 

But  all  good  things  come  to  an  end.  The  last  dance 
was  over;  the  Queen  and  Prince  drove  back  to  the  castle; 
the  Duchess  retired ;  and  still  the  appointed  hour  had  not 
yet  come  that  would  excuse  us  from  the  morning  chapel. 

252 


THE  DEATH  OF  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT 

We  were  very  naughty,  for  we  stayed  until  lights  were  being 
turned  out,  when  everybody  had  quitted  the  lower  rooms 
except  a  few  servants,  who  were  anxious  we  should  be 
gone.  We  then  made  our  adieu ;  but  one  of  the  boys  in- 
cautiously had  let  out  the  reason  of  our  prolonged  stay. 
A  day  or  two  afterwards  we  found  to  our  horror  and  sur- 
prise that  her  Majesty  had  caused  inquiries  to  be  made 
of  our  masters  if  it  were  indeed  true  that  Eton  boys  had 
overstayed  their  time  in  order  to  escape  their  duties  of  the 
following  morning.     Confession  did  not  make  things  better. 

It  was  not  till  March  15th  that  our  kindly  hostess  of  that 
evening  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-six,  and  on  the  an- 
niversary of  her  death  her  daughter  was  wont  ever  after- 
wards to  pay  a  visit  to  the  beautiful  mausoleum  she  erected 
on  the  island  in  the  lake  in  front  of  Frogmore,  a  building 
in  which  she  placed  an  excellent  statue  of  the  Duchess. 

The  end  of  the  year  was  marked  by  that  terrible  loss  which 
the  Queen  sufTered  in  the  death  of  her  husband,  which 
altered  the  whole  of  her  life,  making  the  forty  years  she 
survived  him  one  long  homage  to  his  memory. 

The  brief  and  sad  story  of  the  fatal  illness  of  Prince 
Albert,  who  for  some  weeks  had  been  in  poor  health,  began 
on  December  i,  1861-^ when  he  was  still  unwilling  to  give 
way  and  took  a  short  walk  in  the  garden  below  his  win- 
dows ;  he  went  also  to  the  chapel  in  the  castle,  and  looked, 
the  Queen  thought,  "very  wretched  and  ill,  but  insisted 
on  going  through  all  the  kneeling.  He  came  to  luncheon, 
but  could  eat  nothing.  Sir  James  Clark  and  Dr.  Jenner 
came  over,  and  were  much  disappointed  at  finding  Albert 
so  very  uncomfortable. 

"  He  came  to  our  family  dinner,  but  could  eat  nothing  ; 
yet  he  was  able  to  talk,  and  even  to  tell  stories.  After 
dinner  he  sat  quietly  listening  to  Alice  and  Marie  [Princess 
Leiningen]  playing,  and  hoped  to  get  to  sleep.  I  joined 
him  at  half-past  eleven,  and  he  said  he  was  shivering  with 
the  cold,  and  could  not  sleep  at  all. 

"Next  day  he  was  no  better.  I  was  so  distressed," 
says  the  Queen  in  her  Journal.     "He  did  not  dress,  but 

253 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

lay  upon  the  sofa,  and  I  read  to  him."  Yet  he  was  able 
to  see  Lord  Methuen  and  Colonel  Francis  Se3njiour,  who 
had  returned  from  Portugal,  where  they  had  been  sent  for 
the  funeral  of  the  King.  He  said  that  if  his  own  illness 
was  fever,  it  would  be  fatal  to  him.    He  was  unable  to  dine. 

"Next  day  he  would  take  nothing  hardly:  no  broth, 
no  rusk,  or  bread — nothing.  My  anxiety  is  great,  and 
I  feel  utterly  lost  when  he,  to  whom  I  confide  all,  is  in  such 
a  listless  state,  and  hardly  smiles.  Sir  James  Clark  ar- 
rived, and  was  grieved  to  see  no  more  improvement,  but 
was  not  discouraged.  Albert  rested  in  the  bedroom  and 
liked  being  read  to,  but  no  books  suited  him,  neither  Silas 
Marner  nor  The  Warden.  Lever's  Dodd  Family  I  subse- 
quently tried,  but  he  disliked  it,  so  we  decided  to  have  one 
of  Sir  Walter  Scott's  to-morrow." 

On  the  4th  the  Queen  said  he  was  looking  very  wretched 
and  woe-begone,  and  would  only  take  half  a  cup  of  tea. 
"  He  afterwards  came  to  his  sitting-room,  where  I  left  him 
so  wretched  that  I  was  dreadfully  overcome  and  alarmed. 
Alice  was  reading  to  him;  he  was  very  restless,  haggard, 
and  suffering,  though  at  times  he  seemed  better.  I  was 
sadly  nervous,  with  ups  and  downs  of  hope  and  fear,  while 
Alice  was  reading  The  Talisman  in  the  bedroom,  where 
he  was  lying  on  the  bed.  He  seemed  in  a  very  uncom- 
fortable, panting  state,  which  frightened  us.  Dr.  Jenner 
said  the  Prince  must  eat,  and  he  was  going  to  tell  him  so, 
that  the  illness  would  be  tedious,  and  that  completely  starv^- 
ing  himself,  as  he  had  done,  would  not  do. 

"  Yet  he  asked  about  news,  and  heard  with  great  sorrow 
of  the  death  of  Lady  Canning  at  Calcutta." 

On  the  5th  the  Queen  says :  "  He  did  not  smile  or  take 
much  notice  of  me.  He  was  on  the  sofa,  but  complained 
of  his  wretched  condition,  and  asked  what  it  could  be  and 
how  long  this  state  of  things  might  last.  His  manner 
all  along  was  so  unlike  himself,  and  he  had  sometimes 
such  a  strange,  wild  look.  I  left  him  to  get  dressed  in  a 
state  of  cruel  anxiety,  though  greatly  reassured  by  hearing 
that  the  doctors  thought  him  better.     He  slept  for  some 

254 


THE  DEATH  OF  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT 

time,  and  the  improvement  seemed  to  continue;  taking 
some  nourisliment. 

"Alice  continued  to  read  to  him.  In  the  evening  he 
seemed  more  himself;  most  dear  and  affectionate  when 
I  went  in  with  little  Beatrice,  whom  he  kissed.  He  quite 
laughed  at  some  of  her  new  French  verses,  wliich  I  made 
her  repeat.  Then  he  held  her  httle  hand  in  his  for  some 
time,  and  she  stood  looking  at  him.  He  then  dozed  ofif, 
when  I  left,  not  to  disturb  him. 

"  Dr.  Jenner  was  very  anxious  he  should  undress  and 
go  to  bed,  but  he  would  not,  and  he  walked  over  to  his  dress- 
ing-room and  lay  down  there,  saying  he  would  have  a 
good  night ;  but  it  did  not  bring  rest.  By  eight  he  was  up, 
and  I  found  him  [on  December  6th]  seated  in  his  sitting- 
room,  looking  weak  and  exhausted,  and  complaining  of 
there  being  no  improvement,  and  he  did  not  laiow  what  his 
illness  could  come  from.  I  told  liim  it  was  overwork  and 
worry.  He  said,  '  It  is  too  much  ;  you  must  speak  to  the 
Ministers.' 

"  I  felt  quite  upset  when  the  doctors  came  in,  and  I  saw 
that  they  thought  him  less  well.  I  went  to  my  room  and 
felt  as  if  my  heart  would  break.  He  only  took  a  cup  of 
tea  while  I  was  there,  and  choked  very  much. 

"The  doctors  now  said  that  they  had  all  along  been 
watching  the  patient's  state,  suspecting  fever,  but  unable 
to  judge  what  it  might  be  and  how  to  treat  him  until  that 
morning ;  that  the  fever  must  have  its  course — namely, 
a  month  dating  from  the  beginning,  which  they  considered 
to  have  been  the  day  Albert  went  to  Sandhurst  [November 
22d].  They  were  not  alarmed — saw  no  bad  symptoms; 
Albert  himself  was  not  to  know  it,  as  he  unfortunately 
had  a  horror  of  fever. 

"  What  an  awful  trial  this  is,  to  be  deprived  for  so  long 
of  my  guide,  my  support,  my  all!  My  heart  is  ready  to 
burst;  but  I  cheered  up,  remembering  how  many  people 
had  fever.  Good  Alice  was  very  courageous  and  tried 
to  comfort  me.     I  seem  to  live  in  a  dreadful  dream. 

"  Late  in  the  day  [December  7th]  my  angel  lay  in  bed, 

255 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

and  I  sat  by  him  watching.  The  tears  fell  fast  as  I  thought 
of  the  days  of  anxiety,  even  if  not  of  alarm,  which  were  in 
store  for  us;  the  utter  shipwreck  of  our  plans,  and  the 
dreadful  loss  this  long  illness  would  be — publicly  as  well 
as  privately. 

"  And  then,  when  I  saw  Sir  James  Clark  and  Dr.  Jenner, 
I  talked  over  what  could  have  caused  this  illness.  Great 
worry  and  far  too  hard  work  for  long — that  must  be  stopped. 
Dr.  Jenner  is  going  to  sit  up  with  him,  as  well  as  the  valet. 
My  poor  darling ;  I  kissed  his  hand  and  forehead.  It  is  a 
terrible  trial  to  be  thus  separated  from  him,  and  to  see  him 
in  the  hands  of  others,  careful  and  devoted  though  they  are. 

"  December  8th.  —  When  I  returned  from  breakfast  I 
found  him  lying  on  the  bed  in  the  Blue  Room.  The  sun  was 
shining  brightly ;  the  room  large  and  cheerful.  He  said, 
'  It  is  so  fine. '  For  the  first  time  since  his  illness  he  asked 
for  some  music,  and  said, '  I  should  like  to  hear  a  fine  chorale 
played  at  a  distance.'  We  had  a  piano  brought  into  the 
next  room,  and  Alice  played  '  Eine  Feste  Burg  ist  Unser 
Gott'  and  another,  and  he  listened,  looking  upward  with 
such  a  sweet  expression  and  with  tears  in  his  eyes.  He 
then  said  in  German,  'That  is  enough.'  It  was  Sunday, 
and  Kingsley  preached,  but  I  heard  nothing." 

The  Queen  read  Peveril  of  the  Peak  to  the  Prince,  and 
he  followed  the  story  with  interest,  occasionally  saying 
something  about  it.  "  When  I  went  to  him,  after  dinner, 
he  was  so  pleased  to  see  me,  stroked  my  face  and  smiled, 
and  called  me  '  dear  little  wife. '  His  tenderness  this  even- 
ing, when  he  held  my  hand  and  stroked  my  face,  touched 
me  so  much  and  made  me  so  grateful. 

"Clark  and  Jenner  desired,  with  the  Ministers,  that 
Dr.  Watson  and  Sir  Henry  Holland  should  be  called  in 
consultation.  There  was  some  wandering  on  the  9th. 
He  was  so  kind,"  wrote  the  Queen,  "and  liked  me  to  hold 
his  dear  hand.     Oh,  it  is  an  anxious  time!" 

On  the  loth  the  Queen  says :  "  Going  through  the  door, 
when  he  was  wheeled  into  an  adjoining  room,  he  turned 
to  look  at  the  beautiful  picture  of  the  Madonna  which  he 

256 


THE  DEATH  OF  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT 

gave  me  three  years  ago,  and  asked  to  stop  and  look  at  it, 
ever  loving  what  is  beautiful. 

"I  found  him  a  little  excited  about  his  letters,  which 
Dr.  Jenner  asked  him  if  I  might  open  (they  were  about 
Alfred  and  Leopold)  as  yesterday.  When  I  asked  he 
said  'No/  and  was  afraid  they  contained  bad  news;  but 
I  soon  quieted  him,  and  by  his  desire  read  them  to  him. 
After  lunch,  I  went  again,  when  he  asked  me  to  read  out 
of  Vamhagen  von  Ense's  Memoirs,  and  I  remained  with 
him  until  twenty  minutes  to  four.  The  doctors  are  very 
much  pleased  with  his  state." 

"Dear  Albert,"  the  Queen  says,  "was  very  confused, 
but  everything  else  was  very  satisfactory  on  the  nth. 
Another  good  night,  for  which  I  thanked  and  blessed 
God.  I  went  over  at  eight  and  found  Albert  sitting  up  to 
take  his  beef  tea,  over  which  he  always  laments  most 
bitterly.  I  supported  him,  and  he  laid  his  dear  head — his 
beautiful  face,  more  beautiful  than  ever,  has  grown  so 
thin — on  my  shoulder,  and  remained  a  little  while,  saying, 
Tt  is  very  comfortable  so,  dear  child,'  which  made  me 
so  happy." 

As  he  was  being  assisted  by  the  Queen  to  the  sofa,  he 
said,  looking  at  his  favorite  picture  of  her,  "It  helps  me 
through  half  the  day."  The  Queen  passed  the  greater 
part  of  the  day  with  him,  reading  to  him. 

On  the  I2th  the  fever  increased,  the  breathing  was  shorter, 
but  in  the  evening  he  said,  "You  have  not  forgotten  the 
important  communication  to  Nemours,"  whereupon  the 
Queen  asking  what  he  meant,  he  answered,  "The  one 
Lord  Palmerston  told  you  to  make  to  him  about  his  neph- 
ews"— namely,  that  the  Comte  de  Paris  and  the  Due  de 
Chartres  ought  not  to  remain  in  the  American  army  if 
war  were  declared  against  England. 

On  the  13th  the  breathing  was  quick  and  difficult.  He 
did  not  take  any  notice  of  anything  when  wheeled  to  the 
sitting-room,  and  remained  with  hands  clasped,  looking 
silently  out  of  the  window.  The  Queen,  in  the  afternoon, 
found  there  had  been  a  sudden  sinking  of  strength,  but  he 
«  257 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

was  better  in  the  evening,  quite  conscious,  affectionate, 
and  kind. 

On  the  14th  again  there  was  a  rally  in  the  morning.  "  I 
went  over  at  seven,"  the  Queen  said,  "  as  I  usually  did.  It 
was  a  bright  morning,  the  sun  just  rising  and  shining 
brightly.  The  room  had  a  sad  look  of  night  watching — 
the  candles  burned  down  to  their  sockets,  the  doctors  look- 
ing anxious.  I  went  in.  Never  can  I  forget  how  beauti- 
ful my  darling  looked  lying  there  with  his  face  lit  up  by  the 
rising  sun — his  eyes  unusually  bright,  gazing,  as  it  were, 
on  unseen  objects,  but  not  taking  any  notice  of  me." 

The  Prince  of  Wales  had  been  summoned  by  telegraph 
from  Maddingley,  and  arrived  at  three  in  the  morning,  and 
was  then  told  of  the  anxiety  about  his  father,  to  whose 
room  he  went  later  on,  the  Queen  finding  him  there  when 
she  entered  at  ten. 

The  Queen's  Journal  notes  that  the  day  was  very  fine 
and  very  bright.  "  I  asked  whether  I  might  go  out  for  a 
breath  of  air.  The  doctors  answered,  'Yes,  just  close  by 
for  a  quarter  of  an  hour.'  At  about  twelve  I  went  on  the 
terrace  with  Alice.  The  military  band  was  playing  at  a 
distance,  and  I  burst  into  tears  and  came  home  again ;  I 
hurried  over  at  once.  Dr.  Watson  was  in  the  room.  I 
asked  him  whether  Albert  was  not  better,  as  he  seemed 
stronger,  though  he  took  very  little  notice.  He  answered, 
'We  are  very  much  frightened,  but  don't  and  won't  give 
up  hope.'  They  would  not  let  Albert  sit  up  to  take  his 
nourishment,  as  he  wasted  his  strength  by  doing  so.  '  The 
pulse  keeps  up,'  they  said;  'it  is  not  worse.'  Every  hour, 
every  minute  was  a  gain,  and  Sir  James  Clark  was  very 
hopeful.  He  had  seen  much  worse  cases,  but  the  breath- 
ing was  the  alarming  thing ;  it  was  so  rapid.  There  was 
what  they  call  a  dusky  hue  about  his  face  and  hands  which 
I  knew  was  not  good.  I  made  some  observation  about  it 
to  Dr.  Jenner,  and  was  alarmed  by  seeing  that  he  seemed 
to  notice  it. 

"Albert  folded  his  arms  and  began  arranging  his  hair 
just  as  he  used  to  do  when  well  and  dressing.     These  were 

258 


THE  DEATH  OF  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT 

said  to  be  bad  signs.  Strange  1  As  though  he  were  pre- 
paring for  another  and  greater  journey." 

The  doctors  still  tried  to  alleviate  the  Queen's  distress  by- 
expressions  of  hope. 

"About  half-past  five/'  she  continues,  "I  went  in  and 
sat  beside  his  bed,  which  had  been  wheeled  towards  the 
middle  of  the  room.  '  Good  little  wife,'  he  said,  and  kissed 
me,  and  then  gave  a  sort  of  piteous  moan,  or  rather  sigh, 
not  of  pain,  but  as  if  he  felt  that  he  was  leaving  me,  and 
laid  his  head  upon  my  shoulder,  and  I  put  my  arm  under 
his.  But  the  feeling  passed  away  again,  and  he  seemed 
to  wander  and  to  doze,  and  yet  to  know  all.  Sometimes  I 
could  not  catch  what  he  said.  Occasionally  he  spoke  in 
French. 

"  Alice  came  in  and  kissed  him,  and  he  took  her  hand. 
Bertie,  Helena,  Louise,  and  Arthur  came  in  one  after  the 
other  and  took  his  hand,  and  Arthur  kissed  it,  but  he  was 
dozing  and  did  not  perceive  them.  Then  he  opened  his 
dear  eyes  and  asked  for  Sir  Charles  Phipps,  who  came  in 
and  kissed  his  hand.  Then  again  his  dear  eyes  were 
closed.  General  Grey  and  Sir  Thomas  Biddulph  each 
came  in  and  kissed  his  hand,  and  were  dreadfully  overcome. 

"  It  was  a  terrible  moment,  but,  thank  God,  I  was  able  to 
command  myself,  and  to  be  perfectly  calm,  and  remained 
sitting  by  his  side.  So  things  went  on,  not  really  worse 
and  not  better. " 

It  was  thought  necessary  to  change  his  bed,  and  he  was 
even  able  to  get  out  of  bed  and  sit  up.  He  tried  to  get  into 
bed  alone,  but  could  not,  and  was  helped  on  to  the  other 
bed.  The  doctors  said  plenty  of  air  passed  through  the 
lungs,  and  so  long  as  this  was  so  there  was  still  hope. 

The  Queen  had  retired  for  a  little  to  the  adjoining  room, 
but  soon  returned,  as  the  breathing  became  worse.  She 
found  him  bathed  in  perspiration,  which  the  doctors  said 
might  be  an  effort  of  nature  to  throw  off  the  fever.  She 
whispered  to  him,  "It  is  your  own  little  wife,"  and  he  was 
able  to  kiss  her.  He  seemed  half  dozing,  quite  calm,  and 
only  wishing  to  be  left  undisturbed,  as  he  used  to  be  when 

259 


VICTORIA  R.  I.  HER  LIFE  AND     EMPIRE 

tired  and  not  well.  The  Queen  had  hardly  retired  some 
time  afterguards  when  a  rapid  change  set  in  and  she  had  to 
return,  for  it  was  plain  that  the  end  was  near. 

She  took  his  left  hand — which  was  already  cold,  although 
the  breathing  was  quite  gentle — and  knelt  by  the  side  of 
the  bed.  On  the  other  side  was  Princess  Alice,  while  at  the 
foot  knelt  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  Princess  Helena.  Gen- 
eral Bruce,  the  Dean  of  Windsor,  Sir  Charles  Phipps,  and 
General  Grey  were  also  present.  The  breathing  grew 
quieter  and  quieter.  At  a  quarter  past  ten  it  ceased,  and 
the  Queen  was  left  to  bear  alone  the  burden  of  her  sov- 
ereignty. 

Ministers  and  friends  alike  feared  for  her  reason,  so  ter- 
rible was  her  distress.  But  great  as  it  was,  she  showed 
marvellous  powder  of  self-command.  The  Princess  Alice 
was  the  greatest  comfort,  and  after  her  Lady  Augusta 
Stanley  and  the  Duchess  of  Sutherland,  who  at  once  drove 
over  from  Cliveden. 


THE  DEATH  OF  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT 


HER  MAJESTY'S  FAVORITE  HYMN 

"PEACE!     PERFECT    PEACE!" 

Words  by  the  Right  Reverend  Bishop  Bickersteth. 
Music  by  C.  T.  Caldwell. 


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"  Tkou  wilt  keep  him  in  perfect  peace  whose  mind  is  stayed  on  Thee." 

"  Peace,  perfect  peace,  in  this  dark  world  of  sin  ? 
The  Blood  of  Jesus  whispers  peace  within. 

"Peace,  perfect  peace,  by  thronging  duties  press 'd? 
To  do  the  will  of  Jesus,  this  is  rest. 

"Peace,  perfect  peace,  with  sorrows  surging  round? 
On  Jesus'  Bosom  naught  but  calm  is  found. 

"Peace,  perfect  peace,  with  loved  ones  far  away? 
In  Jesus'  keeping  we  are  safe  and  they. 

"  Peace,  perfect  peace,  our  future  all  unknown  ? 
Jesus  we  know,  and  He  is  on  the  Throne. 

"  Peace,  perfect  peace,  death  shadowing  us  and  ours  ? 
Jesus  has  vanquish 'd  death  and  all  its  powers. 

"It  is  enough:  earth's  struggles  soon  shall  cease, 
And  Jesus  calls  us  to  heaven's  perfect  peace.     Amen." 

261 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

Dean  Stanley  wrote:  "How  great  the  calamity  is  may 
be  measured  by  thinking  that  it  transcends  even  anything 
which  the  passionate  burst  of  public  grief  has  ventured  to 
express,  or  even  knows  or  thinks  of.  No  public  death 
could  have  affected  me  so  much. 

"  I  do  not  suppose  that  I  should  ever  have  known  more 
of  him,  but  so  long  as  he  lived  I  felt  sure  that  there  was  a 
steady  support  to  all  that  was  most  excellent  in  the  English 
Church.  That  barrier  is  now  thrown  down,  and  God  pro- 
tect us  from  the  spirits  that  will  rush  in  through  the  chasm. " 

Of  the  funeral  on  December  23d  he  wrote :  "  It  was  a  pro- 
foundly mournful  and  impressive  sight.  Indeed,  consid- 
ering the  magnitude  of  the  event,  and  the  persons  present, 
all  agitated  by  the  same  emotion,  I  do  not  think  I  have  ever 
seen  or  shall  ever  see  anything  so  affecting." 

The  body  for  the  time  was  placed  in  the  vault  of  St. 
George's  Chapel.  The  Queen  had  been  persuaded  to  go 
to  Osborne. 

Dean  Stanley  noted  in  his  diary*  for  December  14, 1862 : 
"  Anniversary  of  Prince  Consort's  death.  Two  special  ser- 
vices in  the  Queen's  private  room.  The  Queen  had  de- 
sired that  I  should  read  some  part  of  the  last  chapters  of 
St.  John,  some  prayers,  and  perhaps  an  extract  from  my 
sermon  in  the  morning.  I  went  at  9.45  to  Mrs.  Bruce's 
room,  and  with  her  and  Lady  Augusta  to  the  fatal  room. 
I  went  in  first.  There  was  the  valet  who  had  been  with 
him  at  his  death ;  there  was  a  table  placed  for  me.  In  a 
few  moments  they  came  in.  I  began  by  kneeling  down 
and  reading  two  prayers,  chiefly  made  up  from  the  burial 
service ;  I  then  sat  down  and  read  St.  John  xiv.  1-6, 18-20, 
and  27,  28 ;  again  from  St.  John  xvi.  7,  1 6-22,  28,  32,  33 ; 
and  upon  these  verses  read  about  five  pages  of  reflections 
which  I  had  written  in  the  morning ;  then  two  more  pray- 
ers and  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  the  enlarged  form  of  the 
blessing. 

"  The  Queen  then  rose  from  the  bedside,  where  she  had 

*  From  Life  of  Dean  Stanley. 
262 


THE  DEATH  OF  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT 

been  kneeling,  kissed  the  princesses — I  think  the  princes 
kissed  her  hand — then  vshe  kissed  the  Bruces,  and  then 
came  across  to  me.  I  knelt  and  kissed  her  hand,  and  she 
passed  away  with  all  the  others. 

"  The  room  was  almost  exactly  as  it  was  when  I  saw  it 
before,  except  that  there  were  fresh  garlands  of  flowers  on 
the  beds  and  round  the  bust  [of  the  Prince].  It  was  a  very 
bright  morning,  and  there  was  nothing  of  funeral  gloom 
in  the  room.  The  great  State  bed  in  which  the  kings  had 
died  had  been  moved  out  early  in  the  illness,  to  make  room 
for  two  smaller  beds. 

"  I  then  returned  to  my  room  and  revised  my  sermon. 
The  service  was  at  twelve  —  litany  and  communion 
service,  as  usual.  There  was  the  usual  congregation  — 
none  of  the  family  present  except  the  Prince  of  Wales 
and  Prince  Louis  of  Hesse.  You  will  be  pleased  to  hear 
that  the  Queen  expressed  to  Mrs.  Bruce  the  greatest  com- 
fort and  satisfaction  in  the  sermon  of  this  morning,  and 
had  desired  that  I  would  print  it  privately  for  her  use, 
and  also  asked  me  to  read  it  again  this  evening  at  about 
9.30,  the  hour  of  the  death,  which  I  did.  There  were 
present  the  whole  family,  the  Bruces,  the  Duchess  of 
Athole,  Lady  Caroline  Barrington,  and  a  few  servants. 

"The  beautiful  mausoleum  at  Frogmore  is  now  suf- 
ficiently completed  to  have  the  consecration  ceremony 
performed.  At  eleven  the  Dean  of  Christ  Church  arrived, 
and  with  him  and  the  Bishop  of  Oxford  we  went  to  the 
mausoleum.  The  whole  household  was  there.  The 
Bishop,  the  two  deans,  and  two  or  three  Windsor  clergy 
were  on  a  raised  platform  at  the  east  end,  immediately 
above  the  sarcophagus.  The  Queen  and  all  the  children 
came  in  when  every  one  was  assembled.  They  remained 
inside  while  the  clergy  and  choir  walked  round  chanting 
the  psalm.  The  Bishop  then  read  the  two  or  three  pray- 
ers extremely  well,  and  then  were  sung  two  hymns.  I 
could  not  see,  indeed  I  did  not  venture  to  look  at,  the 
Queen. 

"Then   was  read  the  deed  of  consecration,  prefaced 

263 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

by  the  letter  of  the  Queen  herself,  by  Sir  Robert  Philli- 
more.  Then  she  and  the  family  passed  out,  and  we  re- 
turned as  we  came.  The  Dean  of  Christ  Church  received 
a  message  to  stay  for  the  night,  and  had  an  interview 
both  with  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  the  Queen. 

"  After  dinner  I  was  summoned  to  the  Queen.  She  was 
sitting  with  Princess  Alice.  There  was  a  good  deal  of 
conversation  about  Essays  and  Revieivs  about  the  Apoca- 
lypse and  Psalms  —  most  interesting.  This  morning 
(Thursday)  I  walked  with  the  household  to  the  mau- 
soleum. The  coffin  had  been  moved  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  deposited  in  a  temporary  sarcophagus.  We  all 
assembled  outside.  Then  came  the  Queen  and  children, 
who  passed  in  first.  The  Dean  of  Windsor  stood  alone 
at  a  small  table  and  read  passages  from  the  Bible  won- 
derfully appropriate — 'The  Sepulchre  in  the  Garden/ 
' The  New  Sepulchre,'  etc.,  and  an  admirable  prayer.  He 
was  deeply  affected,  and  could  hardly  struggle  through. 
Then  the  Queen  and  children  went  and  knelt  by  the 
coffin,  each  depositing  a  wreath,  and  passed  out.  Each 
of  the  household,  from  Lord  Granville  downward,  went 
up  and  deposited  a  wreath  in  like  manner.  It  was  ex- 
tremely touching,  more  so  than  the  ceremony  yesterday 
— as  much  so  almost  as  the  funeral." 

General  Bruce  wrote  in  January,  1862,  to  Dean  Stanley 
that  it  was  the  wish  of  the  lamented  Prince  Consort, 
when  he  decided  that  the  Prince  of  Wales  should  make  a 
tour  in  the  Holy  Land,  to  have  the  benefit  of  his,  the 
Dean's,  advice  and  knowledge  with  regard  to  the  details. 
"I  have  been  directed  by  the  Queen,"  the  General  wrote, 
"  to  ask  if  you  can  conveniently  come  to  Osborne  for  a  few 
days."  The  Dean  went,  and  wrote,  "As  I  was  sitting  in 
the  Equerries'  Room  at  Osborne,  reading  the  Times,  Gen- 
eral Bruce  came  in  and  sat  down.  He  seemed  uneasy,  as 
if  wishing  to  say  something,  and  at  last  I  laid  down  the 
paper.  He  then  turned  to  me  and  said,  'I  hardlj^  know 
how  to  approach  what  I  am  going  to  say,  but  is  it  totallj^ 
impossible   that  you  should  go  with  us?'  [to  the  Holy 

264 


THE  DEATH  OF  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT 

Land] .  I  was  silent.  He  went  on,  '  The  Prince  Consort 
had  often  said,  "What  would  it  be  if  Professor  Stanley 
should  go  with  you?"  I  fear  it  is  impossible.  The  Queen 
has  said  the  same  thing  to  me  since  you  came,  and  this 
morning  the  Prince  of  Wales  said  the  same  thing  from 
himself.  They  do  not  urge  it,  they  do  not  intend  to  re- 
quest it,  because  they  know  what  it  is  that  they  ask ;  but 
if  you  could  go  it  would  be  inestimable.'  Such  a  thought 
had  never  occurred  to  me  before  I  came  here ;  but,  to  speak 
quite  openly,  I  doubt  whether  I  am  the  proper  person.  It 
is  neither  compliment  nor  blame  to  me  to  say  one  thing  or 
the  other.     I  should  not  be  a  suitable  companion  for  him." 

The  Queen  wrote  that  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
could  not  have  chosen  better  for  her  son.  AVhen  the  Dean's 
mother  urged  on  him  the  duty  of  accepting  the  responsi- 
bility which  might  make  him  of  service  to  the  Queen,  he  at 
once  consented. 

Lady  Augusta  wrote  to  Miss  Stanley  that  the  Queen, 
when  she  heard  of  the  illness  of  Dean  Stanley's  mother, 
which  took  place  soon  after  he  had  started,  said,  "  Oh,  that 
was  Mr.  Stanley's  only  hesitation,  only  doubt,  about  go- 
ing— the  unwillingness  to  leave  his  mother."  It  was  only 
when  his  mother's  own  wishes  were  made  clear  that  the 
Queen,  deeply  touched  and  affected,  desired  that  all  she  • 
felt  might  be  expressed,  "  for  you,  for  her,  for  Mr.  Stanley, 
and  to  say  that  nothing  should  be  done  but  what  Mrs. 
Stanley  decided." 

The  Queen  took  the  greatest  interest  in  the  letters  written 
from  Palestine.  The  Dean's  mother  died :  but  Stanley, 
knowing  what  her  wishes  had  been,  continued  his  journey 
with  the  Prince. 

The  following  extracts  concerning  this  journey  are  taken 
from  the  Life  and  Letters  of  Dean  Stanley. 

"Late  in  the  afternoon  we  reached  Bethany,"  he  says. 
"I  then  took  my  place  close  beside  the  Prince,  every  one 
else  falling  back  by  design  or  accident,  and  at  the  head  of 
the  cavalcade  we  moved  on  towards  the  famous  view.  This 
was  the  one  half-hour  which,  throughout  the  journey,  I  had 

265 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

determined  to  have  alone  with  the  Prince,  and  I  succeed- 
ed. I  pointed  out  each  stage  of  the  triumphal  entry  of 
Christ — the  fig-tree,  the  stones,  the  first  sight  of  Jerusalem, 
the  acclamations,  the  palms,  the  olive  branches,  the  second 
sight  where  He  beheld  the  city  and  w^ept  over  it.  The 
whole  cavalcade  paused  on  that  long  ledge.  It  was  as  im- 
pressive to  me,  and  as  authentic,  as  ever.  I  thought  of 
Ammergau,  I  thought  of  the  many  times  I  had  talked 
over  this  very  moment  with  my  dearest  mother.  I  turned 
round  to  call  the  attention  of  the  rest  of  the  party,  and  as  I 
turned  I  saw  and  bade  the  Prince  look  round  to  the  only 
detail  which  could  have  been  worthy  of  notice  on  such  an 
occasion — a  flock  of  white  sheep  and  black  goats  feeding 
on  the  mountain-side,  the  groundwork  of  the  great  Parable, 
delivered  also  from  this  hill-side,  on  the  Day  of  Judgment. 
The  cavalcade  moved  on  again,  and  I  fell  to  the  rear,  feel- 
ing that  I  had  at  least  done  my  best.  By  the  valley  of 
Jehosaphat  we  returned,  and  so  the  day  closed. 

"  The  Mosque  of  Hebron  was  opened  for  the  first  time  to 
a  European  and  a  Christian.  Turkish  soldiers  guarded 
the  streets,  where  hardly  a  face  was  visible  as  we  passed, 
only  the  solitary  figure  of  a  guard  standing  on  every 
house-top,  evidently  to  secure  that  no  stones  should  be 
thrown  down.  In  short,  it  was  a  complete  military  occu- 
pation. 

"At  last  we  reached  the  corner  of  the  great  Jewish  en- 
closure. Up  the  sharp  flight  of  stairs,  gazing  at  the  huge 
polished  stones,  we  mounted.  At  the  smnmit  we  turned 
inside,  and  here  immediately  were  met  by  the  chief  guar- 
dian of  the  Mosque.  No  one  could  be  more  courteous  than 
he  was,  declaring  that  for  no  one  but  the  eldest  son  of  the 
Queen  of  England  could  he  have  allowed  this.  Sooner 
should  the  princes  of  any  other  nation  have  passed  over 
his  body.  There  was  a  deep  groan  from  the  attendants 
when  the  shrine  of  Abraham  was  opened,  redoubled  at  the 
shrine  of  Jacob  and  of  Joseph.  You  may  imagine  my 
feelings  when  I  thrust  my  arm  down  as  far  as  I  could  to 
reach  into  the  rocky  vault,  and  when  I  knelt  down  to  as- 

266 


THE  DEATH  OF  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT 

certain  how  far  the  tomb  of  Abraham  was  part  of  the  na- 
tive mountain. 

"When  we  all  came  out  I  know  not  what  feelings  pre- 
ponderated. I  must  say,  the  person  for  whom  I  felt  the 
most  was  General  Bruce.  He  said  he  had  been  desirous 
of  making  the  attempt  to  get  into  the  Mosque  not  only  on 
the  Prince's  account,  but  on  my  own,  and  the  Prince  from 
the  first  had  made  my  entrance  an  indispensable  con- 
dition of  his  going  at  all." 

On  April  12th  the  Dean  wrote:  "Three-quarters  of  an 
hour  before  sunset  the  prayers  of  the  Samaritan  Passover 
began.  Presently  there  suddenly  appeared  among  the 
worshippers  six  sheep  guarded  by  some  of  the  youths. 
They  wandered  to  and  fro  in  the  crowds,  so  innocent,  and 
the  young  men  who  attended  them  so  simple  in  their  ap- 
pearance, that  it  was  like  a  pastoral  scene  in  a  play. 

"The  sun,  which  had  hitherto  burnished  up  the  Medi- 
terranean Sea  in  the  distance,  now  sank  very  nearly  to  the 
farthest  western  ridge.  The  recitation  of  prayers  became 
more  vehement;  indeed  it  was,  I  believe,  the  recitation 
from  the  earl^^  chapters  of  Exodus.  The  sheep  were  driven 
more  closely  together,  still  perfectly  playful. 

"  The  sun  touched  the  ridge,  the  youths  burst  into  a  wild 
chant,  and  drew  their  long,  bright  knives,  and  brandished 
them  in  the  air.  In  a  moment  the  sheep  were  thrown  on 
their  backs,  and  the  long  knives  were  drawn  across  their 
throats.  There  were  a  few  silent  convulsions,  '  dumb  as  a 
sheep  that  openeth  not  his  mouth,'  and  the  six  forms  lay 
lifeless  on  the  ground,  with  the  blood  streaming  from  them 
— the  one  annual  Jewish  sacrifice  that  remains  in  the 
world. 

"In  the  blood  the  young  men  dipped  their  fingers  and 
marked  the  foreheads  and  noses  of  all  the  children;  not 
the  doors  of  the  tent,  nor  the  faces  of  the  grown-ups.  It 
was,  as  they  explained,  a  kind  of  relic  of  the  past,  of  which 
only  this  fragment  remains. 

"  The  next  process  was  the  skinning  and  roasting.  For 
this  a  trough  and  deep  hole  were  prepared.     In  both,  vines 

267 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

and  brambles,  those  of  Gotham's  parable,  were  thrown 
and  set  on  fire.  Over  these,  in  the  trough,  were  placed 
two  caldrons,  and  again,  amid  the  recitation  of  Exodus 
xii. ,  the  water  boiled,  and  when  it  had  boiled  enough,  was 
poured  by  the  same  youths  over  the  dead  sheep  to  take  off 
their  wool.  Their  legs  were  torn  off  and  thrown  aside, 
and  the  sheep  themselves  were  spitted  on  long  poles,  and 
were  hoisted  along,  and  were  prepared  to  be  sunk  into  the 
second  hole  filled  with  burning  faggots  to  roast  them. 

"  By  this  time  it  was  past  eight,  and  the  question  arose 
how  long  would  it  be  before  the  feast  took  place.  But  I 
remained,  tried  to  sleep  in  the  Samaritan's  tent  on  that 
wild  mountain  height,  in  the  midst  of  this  ancient  sect,  to 
witness  the  only  direct  vestige  of  the  Jewish  Passover. 
At  half-past  one  we  were  aroused.  The  moon  was  still 
bright  and  high  in  the  heavens.  The  whole  male  com- 
munity was  gathered  around  the  hole,  now  closed  up  with 
wet  earth,  where  the  six  sheep  were  being  roasted.  Mats 
were  arranged  for  them,  on  which  we  were  not  allowed  to 
tread.  When  the  hole  was  opened,  a  cloud  of  steam  and 
smoke  burst  forth,  reminding  me  of  Bishop  Heber's  line : 

" '  Smokes  on  Gerizim's  mount,  Samaria's  sacrifice/ 

and  out  were  brought,  on  their  long  poles,  the  sheep,  their 
heads  and  ears  still  visible,  black  from  the  oven. 

"They  were  thrown  on  the  mats,  which  were  laid  out 
between  two  files  of  Samaritans.  Those  who  were  in 
white  had  ropes  round  their  waists  (girded),  staves  in  their 
hands,  and  shoes  on  their  feet.  A  wild,  long  chant  burst 
out.  It  suddenly  stopped,  and  down  they  all  sank  on 
their  haunches,  and  set  to  work  on  the  masses  of  flesh  be- 
fore them.  They  did  not  seize  it  with  so  much  haste  as  I 
had  been  led  to  expect,  but  they  ate  in  perfect  silence,  and 
so  rapidly  that  in  ten  minutes  it  was  all  gone  but  a  few 
bones  and  scraps,  which  were  gathered  up  in  the  mats  and 
placed  in  a  bundle  over  the  fire,  which  was  once  more  kin- 
dled. By  its  light,  and  with  candles,  the  hole  was  searched 
for  fragments,  as  if  they  were  the  particles  of  sacramental 

268 


THE  DEATH  OF  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT 

bread.  These  were  thrown  on  the  burning  mass,  and  the 
huge  bonfire  was  stirred  up,  which  illuminated  the  moun- 
tain, and  then  gradually  died  away,  and  left  us  to  return 
home." 

"On  Easter  Eve,"  he  writes,  "the  Prince  and  I  rode 
alone  over  the  hills.  He  made  the  best  proposals  for  the 
arrangement  of  the  communion  the  next  day,  and  spoke 
much  of  you  and  of  our  dear  mother  and  of  his  father. 
'It  will  be  a  sad  Easter  for  me,'  he  said.  'Yes,'  I  said, 
'  and  a  sad  one  for  me,  but  I  am  sure  that  if  your  father  and 
my  mother  could  look  down  upon  us,  they  would  be  well 
satisfied  that  we  should  both  be  at  this  time  in  this  place. 

"Suddenly  we  reached  the  ledge  of  the  cliffs,  and  the 
whole  view  of  the  lake  [of  Galilee]  burst  upon  us.  We 
quite  cried  out  with  surprise  and  pleasure,  so  unexpected 
and  so  beautiful.  It  was,  indeed,  that  view  of  which  I  am 
always  afraid  to  speak,  lest  the  glory  of  the  recollection 
should  tempt  me  to  exaggerate  its  real  character.  But 
that  evening,  the  setting  sun  throwing  its  soft  light  over 
the  descent,  the  stormy  clouds  flying  past — it  was  truly 
grand.  And  when  we  found  our  tents  pitched  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  hill  by  the  old  walls  of  Tiberias,  on  the  very 
edge  of  the  lake.  General  Bruce  came  up  to  me  and  said, 
'  You  have  indeed  done  well.' 

"  I  went  out  early  to  look  at  the  view.  The  eastern  hills 
were  dark,  the  sun  behind  the  bank  of  black  clouds  poured 
down  its  first  rays  on  the  calm  lake,  and  the  western  tops 
were  tinged  with  golden  light.  We  had  our  service*  in  the 
great  tent.  I  began  with  the  anthem,  'Christ  our  Pass- 
over,' then  the  special  psalms,  then  Exodus  xii. — especial- 
ly appropriate  after  the  Samaritan  Passover — Te  Deum, 
Romans  vi..  Jubilate,  and  then  the  whole  communion 
service.  I  preached  on  John  xxi.,  taking  the  chapter 
through  piece  by  piece. 

"It  was  certainly  a  very  solemn  occasion,  and  I  am 
thankful  we  had  it  there  and  not  in  Jerusalem  amid  the 
clatter  of  the  contending  Churches.  After  a  long,  quiet 
morning  we  strolled  into  the  town,  and  then,  glad  to  escape 

269 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

from  it,  walked  along  the  shores  to  the  hot  springs,  and 
thence  far  away  to  the  hill  immediately  overhanging  the 
exit  of  the  Jordan. 

"  Altogether  it  was  to  me  the  climax  of  the  tour,  to  have 
had  our  Good  Friday  service  at  Nazareth  and  our  Easter 
communion  on  the  shores  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee." 

They  then  went  on  to  Damascus  by  the  hills  of  Naphtali. 
"  In  the  midst  of  them,  on  a  grand  upland  plain,  there  was 
a  place  I  particularly  wished  to  see,  Kadesh  Naphtali,  the 
holy  place  of  that  great  tribe,  the  birthplace  of  Barak,  and 
close  by  the  scene  of  the  murder  of  Sisera,  which  is  de- 
scribed in  Judges  iv.  as  taking  place  under  the  terebinth 
(oak-tree).  It  was  delightful  to  see  how  many  terebinths 
still  grew  on  the  plain.  H.R.H.  and  I  tore  away  a  small 
branch,  he  for  the  Princess  Royal,  for  whom  he  has  made 
a  collection  of  flowers  and  leaves  from  almost  every  famous 
spot  he  has  seen." 

The  letters  of  this  part  of  the  journej^  close  with  a  de- 
scription of  Lebanon's  cedars.  "The  cedars!  Imagine 
a  vast  semicircle  of  mountains,  the  upper  range  covered 
with  snow,  the  lower  range,  which  is,  in  fact,  the  deposit  of 
glaciers,  shutting  up  this  upper  range;  and  again,  in  the 
heart  of  the  lower  range,  a  rich,  green,  cultivated  valley, 
penetrating  till  it  ends  in  rocky  barrenness.  Exactly  in 
the  centre  of  the  view,  just  appearing  above  the  lower  range 
and  under  the  snowy  range,  you  see  a  black,  massive 
clump,  the  only  vegetation  on  the  whole  horizon,  till  your 
eye  descends  on  the  green  valley  below.  That  is  the  cedar 
grove. 

"We  lost  sight  of  them  until  mounting  some  intervening 
rocks  and  standing  on  the  edge  of  a  ravine  which  parted  us 
from  them.  One  after  another,  through  the  mist  which 
was  floating  around  us,  the  trees  appeared  close  at  hand. 
The  second  view  was  perhaps  disappointing,  for  what  then 
are  seen  are  only  the  youngest  cedars,  which  form  the  out- 
skirts of  the  grove ;  but  in  a  few  minutes  we  were  in  the 
midst  of  them,  and  although  again  they  were  different  from 
what  I  had  expected,  the  whole  effect  was  most  impressive. 

270 


THE  DEATH  OF  THE  PRiNCE  CONSORT 

"They  stand  on  a  little  island,  as  it  were,  planted  on  the 
centre  of  the  barren  mountains,  the  island  consisting  of 
seven  hills,  or  knolls,  of  which  six  are  arranged  round  the 
seventh — a  square  mount,  in  the  midst  of  which  stands  the 
rude  Maronitc  chapel. 

"  These  knolls  give  a  peculiarity  to  the  place  for  which  I 
was  not  prepared.  The  great  old  cedars  are  not,  as  I  imag- 
ined, all  collected  together,  but  are  interspersed  with  their 
younger  brethren,  two  or  three  standing  on  the  central 
knoll,  four  or  five  on  the  hill  nearer  the  snow.  In  one  re- 
spect they  are  inferior  to  their  Enghsh  descendants — they 
have  not  wide,  spreading  branches  feathering  to  the  ground, 
probably  owing  to  their  closeness  to  each  other.  One  of 
them,  I  observed,  actually  supported  in  its  gigantic  arm  a 
lesser  tree  whose  trunk  was«quite  decayed ;  but  their  trunks 
are  very  remarkable — so  huge,  so  irregular,  so  venerable, 
the  gray  scales  of  bark  covering  them  as  with  a  skin.  It 
was  impossible  for  us  to  carry  off  a  section  of  a  fallen  tree. 
All  were  pleased  to  have  seen  them.  The  Prince  was  very 
anxious  that  we  should  have  the  service  under  their  shade." 

Souvenirs  of  this  tour  are  still  preserved  in  the  museum 
at  the  Swiss  Cottage  at  Osborne. 

The  sadness  and  mourning  which  followed  the  death  of 
the  Prince  Consort  was,  in  March,  1863,  changed  for  a 
while  to  gladness,  when  Princess  Alexandra  of  Denmark, 
the  bride  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  made  her  public  entry  into 
London  as  she  passed  from  Gravesend  to  Windsor. 

The  Corporation  of  London  spent  £40,000  upon  decora- 
tions, triumphal  arches,  and  illuminations,  and  every  pri- 
vate house  along  the  route  the  Princess  was  to  take  showed 
its  own  loyalty  by  decking  windows  and  balconies  with 
bright  colors.  The  streets  were  thronged  with  a  marvel- 
lous crowd,  such  as  on  great  occasions  only  London  can 
show. 

At  the  marriage  ceremony  in  St.  George's  Chapel,  the 
Knights  of  the  Garter  wore  their  robes.  The  Princess  was 
attired  in  a  dress  of  white  satin  and  Honiton  lace.  Among 
her  jewels  she  wore  a  riviere  of  diamonds  given  by  the  Cor- 

271 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

poration  of  London.  Nothing  could  exceed  the  joy  of  the 
people  in  welcoming  to  her  new  home  so  beautiful  a  bride. 
In  1864  came  the  dispute  between  Germany  and  Den- 
mark, and  the  question  of  the  succession  to  the  duchies  of 
Schleswig-Holstein,  a  matter  so  intricate  that  it  was  said 
nobody  could  stand  a  competitive  examination  on  the  sub- 
ject. Austria  and  Prussia  sent  troops  to  the  duchies,  the 
war  resulting  in  the  defeat  of  the  Danes  and  the  loss  of  most 
of  their  mainland  possessions.  It  was  also  the  seed-ground 
of  the  contention  between  the  invaders,  which  brought  out 
clearly  to  the  mind  of  Bismarck  that  it  was  necessary,  in 
the  interests  of  Prussia,  to  rid  Germany  of  the  power  of  the 
Hapsburgs. 

For  many  years  following  the  death  of  the  Prince  Con- 
sort the  Queen  felt  herself  unequal  to  the  strain  on  her 
nerves  involved  in  taking  part  in  public  ceremonies  of  any- 
thing like  a  festive  nature.  At  the  same  time  she  never 
lost  an  opportunity  of  showing  her  sympathy  with  all 
good  works  of  a  national  character.  The  great  military 
hospital  at  Netley  was  constantly  visited  by  her,  even  dur- 
ing the  earliest  years  of  her  sorrow. 

She  went  to  Aberdeen  to  be  present  at  the  unveiling  of 
the  Prince  Consort's  statue  in  1863,  and  said  to  the  Pro- 
vost: "  I  could  not  reconcile  it  to  myself  to  remain  at  Bal- 
moral while  such  a  tribute  was  being  paid  to  his  memory 
without  making  an  exertion  to  show  you  personally  the 
deep  and  heartfelt  sense  I  entertain  of  your  kindness  and 
affection,  and  at  the  same  time  to-  proclaim,  in  public,  the 
unbounded  reverence  and  admiration,  the  devoted  love 
which  fills  my  heart,  for  him  whose  loss  must  throw  a  last- 
ing gloom  over  my  future  life." 

In  the  strict  attention  she  gave  to  all  business  matters, 
conscientiously  apportioning  her  day  so  as  to  always  be 
able  to  read  through  the  despatches  and  attend  to  all  pub- 
lic duties,  the  Queen  followed  what  she  knew  would  have 
been  the  wishes  of  her  husband.  She  loved  to  visit  the 
places  associated  with  his  performance  of  public  duty 
wherever  possible.     She  went  with  one  son  and   three 

273 


THE  DEATH  OF  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT 

daughters  to  Coburg,  revisiting  all  the  houses,  gardens, 
and  woods  she  had  known  in  happier  days,  and  on  the  re- 
turn journey  saw  King  Leopold  for  the  last  time  in  Bel- 
gium. In  the  year  of  the  terrible  German  conflict  she 
opened  ParUament  personally,  declaring  her  consent  to 
the  marriage  of  Princess  Helena  to  Prince  Christian,  a 
union  which  took  place  in  July,  1866. 

Again,  in  the  following  year,  she  went  to  the  House  of 
Lords  to  open  the  session,  and  in  May  laid  the  first  stone 
of  the  Albert  Hall.  She  received  the  Sultan  Abdul  Azziz 
in  1867,  and  invested  him,  on  board  the  royal  yacht  off 
Osborne,  with  the  Order  of  the  Garter,  advantage  being 
taken  of  a  great  parade  of  the  fleet  for  the  ceremony  to  be 
performed  for  the  first  time  at  sea. 

Another  great  parade  of  volunteers  was  held  in  1868, 
when  they  were  inspected  by  the  Queen,  and  in  the  sum- 
mer she  made  one  of  those  short  visits  to  the  Continent 
which  she  afterwards  often  enjoyed,  staying  this  time  for  a 
month  at  Lucerne. 

People  who  did  not  know  how  fully  occupied  her  time 
was  in  affairs  of  State  were  inclined  to  grumble  at  the  rep- 
resentation of  roj'alty  not  being  more  adequately  brought 
before  the  public,  and  the  Queen,  with  her  usual  frankness, 
desiring  that  no  false  impression  giving  expectation  of  a 
resumption  of  her  bearing  a  part  in  scenes  of  festivity 
should  exist,  wrote,  that  all  might  know  the  exact  position 
of  the  matter :    '• 

"An  erroneous  impression  seems  generally  to  prevail, 
and  has  lately  found  frequent  expression  in  the  newspa- 
pers, that  the  Queen  is  about  to  resume  the  place  in  society 
which  she  occupied  before  her  great  affliction;  that  is, 
that  she  is  about  to  hold  Levees  and  Drawing-rooms  in 
person,  and  to  appear  as  before  at  Court  balls,  concerts, 
etc.     This  idea  cannot  be  too  explicitly  contradicted. 

"  The  Queen  appreciates  the  desire  of  her  subjects  to  see 
her,  and  whatever  she  can  do  to  gratify  them  in  this  loyal 
and  affectionate  wish  she  will  do.  AVhenever  any  real  ob- 
ject is  to  be  attained  by  her  appearing  on  public  occasions, 

273 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

any  national  interest  to  be  promoted,  or  anything  to  be 
encouraged  which  is  for  the  good  of  the  people,  her  Maj- 
esty will  not  shrink,  as  she  has  not  shrunk,  from  any 
personal  sacrifice  or  exertion,  however  painful. 

"But  there  are  other  and  higher  duties  than  of  mere 
representation  which  are  now  thrown  upon  the  Queen 
alone  and  unassisted — duties  which  she  cannot  neglect 
without  injury  to  the  public  service — which  weigh  un- 
ceasingly upon  her,  overwhelming  her  with  work  and 
anxiety.  The  Queen  has  labored  conscientiously  to  dis- 
charge those  duties  till  her  health  and  strength,  already 
shaken  by  the  bitter  and  abiding  desolation  which  has 
taken  the  place  of  her  former  happiness,  have  been  im- 
paired. 

"To  call  upon  her  to  undergo,  in  addition,  the  fatigue 
of  those  mere  State  ceremonies  which  can  be  equally  well 
performed  by  other  members  of  her  family,  is  to  ask  her  to 
run  the  risk  of  entirely  disabling  herself  for  the  discharge 
of  those  other  duties  which  cannot  be  neglected  without 
serious  injury  to  the  public  interest. 

"The  Queen  will,  however,  do  what  she  can — in  the 
manner  least  trying  to  her  health,  strength,  and  spirits — 
to  meet  the  loyal  wishes  of  her  subjects,  to  afford  that  sup- 
port and  countenance  to  society,  and  to  give  that  encourage- 
ment to  trade  which  is  desired  of  her.  More  the  Queen 
cannot  do;  and  more  the  kindness  and  good  feeling  of 
her  people  will  surely  not  exact  of  her." 

Mr.  Holmes,  in  his  excellent  Life  of  the  Queen,  men- 
tions a  long  list  of  public  institutions  of  various  kinds 
which  were  opened  at  different  times  by  the  Queen  in  per- 
son. The  deep  debt  of  gratitude  should  also  be  mentioned 
here  which  the  country  owes  to  the  Prince  and  Princess  of 
Wales,  who  took  upon  themselves  so  large  a  portion  of  the 
burden  of  representation  of  sovereignty  which  the  Queen 
herself  was  obliged  unwillingly  to  relinquish.  It  may  be 
said  that  from  the  time  of  their  marriage  to  the  time  of  their 
accession  to  the  throne  no  worthy  appeal  for  participation 
in  any  ceremony  involving  the  national  good  and  the  ben- 

274 


THE  DEATH  OF  THE  PRINCE  CONSORT 

efit  of  the  people  was  ever  neglected  by  them — a  record  of 
devoted  service  to  the  public  unmatched  by  any  others  in 
the  position  of  heirs  apparent. 

During  the  last  few  years  of  her  life,  Queen  Victoria, 
notwithstanding  the  weight  of  advanced  years  and  in- 
creasing infirmities,  took  part  in  more  numerous  public 
functions  than  had  been  her  practice  during  the  earlier 
period  of  her  widowhood.  At  what  a  cost  to  herself  she 
thus  obeyed  what  she  regarded  as  the  calls  of  duty  will 
never  be  known  to  the  public  generally. 


CHAPTER  IX 

FROM  THE  SEVENTIES  TO  THE  EIGHTIES 

We  must  here  note  a  series  of  events  in  Central  Europe, 
and  see  how  its  map  was  changed,  and  how  Bismarck 
triumphed.  In  1870  the  hour  was  struck  for  the  comple- 
tion of  his  task  of  crowning  his  King  as  German  Emperor, 
and  giving  England  another  discrowned  monarch  as  a 
refugee  in  the  person  of  Napoleon.  Gigantic  preparation 
had  been  made  in  Germany  for  the  war.  The  army  could 
be  mobilized  in  twenty-four  hours.  Moltke  had  arranged 
where  each  corps  was  to  take  its  place  at  the  signal.  Yet 
the  King  of  Prussia  did  not  want  war.  The  cause  of  the 
outbreak  was  French  jealousy  of  a  proposal  to  put  a  Ho- 
henzollern  prince  on  the  throne  of  Spain.  No  one  about 
the  King  anticipated  anything  but  some  negotiations. 
The  King  went  to  drink  the  water  at  Ems.  There  the 
French  Ambassador,  Benedetti,  began  speaking  to  him  on 
the  promenade.  King  William,  averse  to  continuing  a 
conversation  in  such  a  place,  indicated  that  another  mo- 
ment had  best  be  sought.  Paris  was  told  that  King  Will- 
iam had  turned  his  back  on  her  representative.  Crowds 
shouted,  "A  Berlin."  Louis  Napoleon,  believing  the  as- 
sertion of  his  War  Minister,  Le  Boeuf,  that  all  was  ready, 
and  thinking  that  his  throne  would  be  in  danger  if  he  hesi- 
tated, declared  war.  But  the  Prussian  organization  at 
once  triumphed  in  the  massing  of  troops  on  and  beyond 
the  frontier.  The  Prussian  diplomacy  won,  in  that  it 
found  all  Germans  on  its  side  against  the  "hereditary 
enemy."  They  who  had  fought  in  1866  marched  side  by 
side  four  years  later.  The  tremendous  events  of  the  capt- 
ure of  MacMahon's  army  at  Sedan — the  siege  of  Metz  and 

276 


THE    SEVENTIES   TO    THE    EIGHTIES 

capture  of  the  whole  French  amiy  under  Bazaine — the 
siege  of  Paris — the  capitulation  of  Paris — followed  before 
the  winter  had  come  and  gone. 

The  Emperor  Napoleon,  ill  and  suffering  so  much  that 
he  could  hardly  sit  on  horvSeback,  was  taken  prisoner  at 
Sedan,  capitulating  with  all  his  army,  and,  after  a  short 
stay  as  a  prisoner  of  war  at  Wilhelmshohe,  a  beautiful 
place  near  Cassel,  often  called  the  German  Versailles, 
came  to  England,  where  he  and  the  Empress  lived  until 
his  death  at  Chiselhurst. 

Soon  after  the  re-establishment  of  peace  on  the  Conti- 
nent, another  of  the  Queen's  daughters.  Princess  Louise, 
was  married  in  March,  1 871,  the  Queen  returning  to  the 
old  custom,  which  had  always  obtained  in  Britain  before 
the  overthrow  of  the  Stuart  dynasty,  of  allowing  a  sover- 
eign's daughter  to  marry  in  the  country  of  her  birth.  This 
would  probably  never  have  been  changed  had  it  not  been 
for  the  unfortunate  alliances  contracted  in  the  Georgian 
era,  which  almost  compelled  the  sovereign  and  Parliament 
to  pass  the  law  which  deprived  all  royal  marriages  of  le- 
gality which  were  not  expressly  sanctioned  b}^  themselves. 
It  is  obvious  that,  where  there  may  be  a  question  of  suc- 
cession to  the  crown,  the  sovereign  and  Parliament  must 
decide  as  to  whether  the  marriage  shall  or  shall  not  involve 
resignation  of  any  right  of  possible  succession. 

There  had  been  some  opposition  in  the  House  of  Com- 
mons with  regard  to  the  marriage  of  each  of  the  Queen's 
children  until,  in  this  instance,  it  dwindled  to  the  adverse 
vote  of  one  man,  and  he  was  a  personal  friend  of  the  bride- 
groom, and  unfortunately  blind ! 

The  year  was  memorable  in  the  triumph  of  peace  in  the 
Anglo-Saxon  world,  b3^  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty  at 
Washington,  by  which  the  Queen's  representatives  ex- 
pressed in  a  friendly  spirit  the  regret  felt  by  her  Majesty's 
government  for  the  escape  of  the  Alabama  and  other  ves- 
sels from  British  ports,  and  for  the  depredations  committed 
by  those  vessels.  Both  governments  agreed  that  a  neu- 
tral is  bound,  first,  to  use  due  diligence  to  prevent  the  fitting 

277 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

out,  arming,  or  equipping  within  its  jurisdiction  of  any 
vessel  which  it  has  reasonable  ground  to  believe  is  to  be 
used  for  carrying  on  war  with  a  power  with  which  it  is 
at  peace ;  and  also  to  use  like  diligence  to  prevent  the  de- 
parture from  its  jurisdiction  of  any  vessel  intended  for  use 
in  carrying  on  war  as  above,  such  vessel  having  been 
specially  adapted  in  whole  or  in  part  within  such  jurisdic- 
tion to  warlike  use. 

Secondly,  not  to  permit  or  suffer  either  belligerent  to 
make  use  of  its  ports  or  waters  as  a  base  of  naval  opera- 
tions against  the  other,  or  for  the  purpose  of  the  renewal 
or  augmentation  of  military  supplies  or  arms,  or  the  re- 
cruitment of  men. 

Thirdly,  to  exercise  due  diligence  in  its  own  ports  and 
waters,  and  as  to  all  persons  within  its  jurisdiction,  to 
prevent  any  violation  of  the  foregoing  obligations  and 
duties. 

Arbitration  was  agreed  to,  and  the  Geneva  Tribunal 
found  England  responsible  for  the  acts  of  the  Alabama  as 
well  as  for  the  deeds  of  two  other  cruisers,  awarding  a  sum 
to  be  paid  by  her  to  the  United  States  of  betw^een  three  and 
four  millions — a  cheap  price  to  pay  if,  as  may  be  hoped, 
the  example  of  the  arbitration  can  be  perpetuated  so  that 
in  all  questions  not  actually  affecting  the  honor  of  either 
country  differences  may  be  settled  by  like  means. 

The  great  national  anxiety  caused  by  the  Prince  of 
Wales's  illness,  from  an  attack  of  typhoid  fever,  in  1871, 
was  changed  to  universal  rejoicing  when  the  Queen  and 
her  family  went  to  St.  Paul's  to  give  thanks  for  the  Prince's 
recovery  in  February,  1872. 

There  was  a  splendid  triumphal  arch  at  Ludgate  Circus, 
and  a  grand  roar  of  acclamation  followed  the  procession 
imtil  the  great  cathedral  was  reached.  The  steps  were 
enclosed  with  a  pavilion,  and  there  was  a  covered  way  laid 
with  crimson  cloth,  the  entrance  being  surmounted  by  the 
inscription,  "  I  w^as  glad  when  they  said  unto  me.  We  will 
go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord."  The  porch  was  fitted  with 
rooms  of  blue,  white,  and  red,  and  crimson  damask  in  their 

278 


THE   SEVENTIES   TO   THE    EIGHTIES 

interior.  Thirteen  thousand  persons  found  room  in  the 
galleries  erected  in  the  aisles  and  transepts. 

Under  the  dome  were  the  Queen  and  her  family,  the 
members  of  the  House  of  Lords  and  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, the  foreign  representatives,  the  judges,  lords  lieu- 
tenant, and  sheriffs,  and  delegates  from  the  universities. 
In  the  choir  were  the  clergy,  and  the  screen  between  the 
choir  and  the  dome  was  taken  away  so  that  the  music  might 
be  better  heard.  The  royal  family  were  in  a  specially 
designed  long  pew,  raised  two  or  three  steps  above  the 
low  platform  arranged  across  the  end  of  the  nave,  fronting 
the  choir,  and  somewhat  advanced  into  the  central  space 
under  the  dome.  On  the  right  were  the  foreign  princes 
and  Indian  princes. 

The  Queen,  after  the  seven  miles'  progress  through  the 
acclaiming  multitudes  was  over,  wrote:  "The  Queen  is 
anxious,  as  on  a  previous  occasion,  to  express  publicly  her 
own  personal  deep  sense  of  the  reception  the  Queen  and  her 
dear  children  met  with  on  Tuesday  [February  27th]  from 
millions  of  her  subjects  on  her  way  to  and  from  St.  Paul's. 
Words  are  too  weak  for  the  Queen  to  say  how  very  deeply 
touched  and  gratified  she  has  been  by  the  immense  en- 
thusiasm and  affection  exhibited  towards  her  dear  son  and 
herself  from  the  highest  down  to  the  lowest  in  the  long 
progress  through  the  capital,  and  she  earnestly  wishes  to 
convey  her  warmest  and  most  heartfelt  thanks  to  the  whole 
nation  for  this  demonstration  of  loyalty.  The  Queen, 
as  well  as  her  son  and  dear  daughter-in-law,  felt  that  the 
whole  nation  joined  with  them  in  thanking  God  for  pre- 
serving the  Prince  of  Wales's  life.  The  remembrance  of 
this  day,  and  the  remarkable  order  maintained  through- 
out, will  ever  be  affectionately  remembered  by  the  Queen 
and  her  family." 

The  Prince  was  able  to  undertake  attendance  on  several 
public  occasions  early  in  the  year,  and  the  Duke  of  Edin- 
burgh opened  an  exhibition  in  Dublin. 

The  Shah,  Nusser-Ood-Deen,  who  was  by  descent  a 
Turk  of  the  tribe  of  the  Kujurs,  whose  chief  seized  the 

279 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

crown  towards  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  visited 
this  country  in  1873.  He  came  to  England  with  the  repu- 
tation of  being  a  reformer,  abandoning  much  of  the  cruel- 
ty formerly  practised  in  the  administration  of  the  laws. 
He  wore  a  black  cap  with  a  magnificent  aigrette  of  dia- 
monds in  front,  a  befrogged  black  coat,  and  valuable  rings. 
Anxious  to  see  Europe,  he  visited  Berlin  and  Paris  as 
well  as  London.  When  he  saluted  a  brother  sovereign  he 
crossed  his  hands  on  his  breast,  while  all  his  courtiers  put 
their  hands  to  their  hearts  whenever  he  spoke  to  them. 

There  was  a  review  arranged  for  hira  in  the  Home  Park 
at  Windsor,  which  was  a  great  success  in  spite  of  one  of 
his  nobles  falling  from  his  horse  and  bedewing  the  grass 
with  a  shower  of  diamonds.  He  expressed  the  most  cordial 
good-will  towards  Great  Britain,  and  this  was  no  mere  trick 
of  speech,  for  he  set  an  example  in  his  country  in  this  re- 
spect wliich  his  successors  have  sought  to  follow. 

He  was  mounted  at  the  review  on  a  chestnut  Arab  whose 
tail  was  dyed  pink,  and  it  was  noticed  that  one  of  his  fol- 
lowers had  a  horse  with  a  magenta-colored  tail.  He  was 
entertained  by  the  City  of  London  at  a  great  ball  at  the 
Guildhall  under  the  mayoralty  of  Sir  Sydney  Waterlow. 
He  much  admired  English  beauty,  although  he  observed 
that  our  young  ladies  do  not  care  to  have  their  eyebrows 
meeting  over  their  nose,  which  in  his  country  is  consid- 
ered a  very  especial  advantage. 

The  works  of  the  great  Persian  poet,  Omar  Khayyam, 
in  the  version  of  Mr.  Fitzgerald,  had  not  then  appeared  to 
astonish  the  English  reading  public,  and  people  were  hard- 
ly inclined  to  give  the  Shah  of  Persia  the  credit  he  has  of 
being  at  the  head  of  a  people  whose  literature  is  most  re- 
markable, whose  language  centuries  ago  became,  and  still 
remains,  the  polite  language  of  society  in  India,  and  who 
possess  poets  whose  thoughts  are  as  remarkable  as  the 
tongue  in  which  they  are  expressed  is  full,  musical,  and 
powerful. 

The  Queen  was  glad  to  be  able  to  show  her  interest  in 
the  creation  and  keeping  of  open  spaces  in  great  cities  for 

280 


THE   SEVENTIES   TO   THE   EIGHTIES 

the  recreation  of  the  people  by  visiting  the  Victoria  Park, 
in  the  East  End  of  London.  The  two  hundred  and  ninety 
acres  of  which  the  park  boasts  was  a  place  to  which  vast 
numbers  flocked  on  April  3, 1873.  At  the  Hackney  Town 
Hall  her  carriage  stopped  that  the  building  might  be  seen, 
and  thousands  of  working-people  joined  in  the  singing  of 
the  national  anthem.  It  was  remembered  that  no  English 
sovereign  had  been  there  since  the  time  of  Charles  II. 

Soon  afterwards  came  the  wedding  of  the  Duke  of  Edin- 
burgh. The  Queen  wrote  to  Lady  Augusta  Stanley  in 
August,  1873 :  "  I  shall  see  you  to-morrow,  and  I  wish  to 
prepare  you  for  what  not  only  I,  but  Alfred  and  others,  in- 
cluding the  Dean  of  Windsor  and  Lord  Granville,  are  very 
anxious  for — it  is  that  I  am  very  desirous  that  your  Dean 
vshould  perform  the  English  ceremony  at  St.  Petersburg, 
and  that  you  should  attend  as  one  of  my  ladies.  You 
travel  so  much,  and  dread  cold  so  little,  that,  as  in 
January  the  Russian  climate  is  said  to  be  healthy,  I 
hope  you  will  be  able  to  undertake  a  mission  which  will 
require  great  discretion,  and  w^hich  will  be  a  comfort  to  me. 
But  you  must  fully  consider  whether  you  can  manage  it, 
and  that  is  why  I  have  thought  it  best  to  write  before  I 
see  you  both." 

Dean  Stanley  agreed  to  go,  and  started  on  January  9, 
1874.  The  Queen  wrote:  "I  address  this  letter  to  St. 
Petersburg  with  two  parcels  which  require  explanation, 
and  which  I  trust  to  your  special  care.  The  one  contains 
two  sprigs  of  myrtle,  which  I  ask  you  to  put  at  once  into 
a  little  warm  water,  and  to  keep  till  the  afternoon  of  the 
22d,  to  be  placed  in  the  middle  of  a  bouquet  of  white  flowers 
which  I  shall  ask  you  to  order  and  give  from  me  to  Marie 
before  the  English  wedding,  with  this  explanation — name- 
\y,  that  this  mj^^rtle  comes  from  a  large,  healthy  plant  here, 
which  has  grown  from  a  little  bit  of  myrtle,  much  smaller 
than  these  sprigs,  which  was  in  the  Princess  Royal's  nose- 
gay, and  which  all  the  brides  [the  Queen's  daughters]  have 
had  a  piece  of  in  succession. 

"  The  second  box  contains  two  prayer-books.     The  one 

281 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

in  white,  with  an  illumination  of  some  verses  which  I  had 
printed  on  purpose,  is  for  the  Grand  Duchess,  and  the 
other,  a  plain  one,  is  for  Alfred,  both  to  be  given  to  them 
on  their  wedding-da3^  and  for  the  English  wedding.  My 
dear  mother  gave  my  beloved  husband  and  me  prayer- 
books,  which  I  now  have  and  often  use,  especially  the  dear 
Prince's." 

At  St.  Petersburg  they  were  received  in  great  state  at  the 
Winter  Palace.  The  rooms  were  magnificent,  looking  out 
on  the  Neva;  the  temperature  warm. 

What  Stanley  saw^  is  published  in  his  Life  and  Letters, 
from  which  we  condense  the  following  account : 

"  Next  day  I  was  ushered  into  the  Emperor's  room.  He 
was  quite  alone,  standing  in  full  uniform  by  a  desk;  ex- 
ceedingly gracious.  I  said  I  hoped  that  the  benediction  of 
both  Churches  might  descend  on  an  event  so  happy  for 
both  countries ;  the  only  sufferers  are  the  parents.  His  eyes 
filled  with  tears,  and  he  said,  '  Yes,  it's  true ;  she  has  been 
the  joy  of  our  lives,  but  it  must  be. '  It  was  impossible  not 
to  be  moved  by  his  emotion. 

"  Augusta  had  meanwhile  been  sent  for  by  the  Empress, 
and  just  as  I  was  passing  through  the  galleries  I  was  also 
summoned  to  see  her.  She  was  with  the  Grand  Duchess 
and  Prince  Alfred.  We  had  much  conversation  on  the 
marriage  ceremony.  We  had  to  make  many  calls  after- 
wards. At  the  Czarevitch's  there  was  a  book  for  the  in- 
scription of  names,  and  in  this  there  was  an  entrj^  that 
puzzled  me — 'Prince  and  Princess  Waleskj^'  At  last  I 
saw  that  this  must  be  Russian  for  '  of  Wales. ' 

"  There  was  a  service  in  the  English  Church.  I  preached 
on  Christ's  presence  at  the  marriage  at  Cana,  which  was 
not  only  the  gospel  of  the  day  in  the  new  style,  but  the 
second  lesson  for  the  Epiphany,  old  style.  The  Prince  of 
Wales  has  written  a  very  kind  note  begging  that  it  may 
be  printed. 

"  On  Monday  we  went  to  the  museum  in  the '  Hennitage.' 
Imagine  what  it  is.  An  immense  collection  of  pictures, 
statues,  and  antiquities,  almost  like  the  Vatican,  under 

282 


THE    SEVENTIES   TO    THE    EIGHTIES 

the  same  roof  as  the  palace.  What  is  truly  astonishing  are 
the  Grecian  sculptures — the  habits  of  the  Scythians,  400 
B.C. — in  which  there  is  a  most  beautiful  representation  of 
peasants,  in  the  same  costumes  and  with  the  same  customs 
as  you  see  in  Russia  now. 

"Then  came  a  message  for  me  to  read  my  sennon  to 
the  Empress.  The  interview  was  deeply  affecting.  There 
was  no  one  but  herself  and  the  Grand  Duchess.  I  begged 
her  to  interrupt  me  if  there  w^as  anything  she  did  not  un- 
derstand; this  led  to  a  constant  series  of  remarks  and 
questions.  I  went  on,  and  when  I  came  to  the  part  relat- 
ing to  the  feeling  of  the  parents  it  was  a  hard  struggle  to 
get  through.  After  it  was  over  they  both  discussed,  in  the 
most  easy  and  natural  manner,  the  details  of  the  marriage 
ceremony,  and  parted  with  the  most  gracious  sayings,  and 
expression  of  a  desire  to  have  it  printed  and  translated. 

"  At  six  we  dined  with  the  Emperor.  Every  one  in  uni- 
form except  Lord  Suffield,  Francis  Knollys,  and  myself; 
and  eighty  persons  present.  Dinner  was  extremely  short, 
and  the  whole  party  broke  up  at  9  P.M. 

"Next  day  I  paid  visits  to  the  three  metropolitans — St. 
Petersburg,  Moscow,  and  Kief.  The  first  visit  to  Isidore, 
of  St.  Petersburg.  Nothing  could  be  more  cordial.  He 
kissed  me  three  times  on  each  side  of  the  face,  as  did  all 
the  others.  I  asked  him  about  the  Bulgarians,  and  various 
points  connected  with  the  marriage.  Innocent,  of  Moscow, 
was  questioned  about  missions.  Ascanius,  of  Kief,  talked 
history,  and  I  asked  him  w^hat  opinion  was  held  in  Russia 
on  the  guilt  or  innocence  of  Mary  Stuart.  It  really  was 
touching  to  see  how  totally  w^ithout  jealousy,  or  any  sort 
of  feeling  except  love  for  the  Emperor's  familj^  they  all 
seemed  to  be. 

"  It  is  impossible  to  exaggerate  the  comfort  of  the  houses 
in  winter.  Nowhere  have  I  felt  so  absolutely  safe  from  the 
slightest  sensation  of  disagreeable  cold. 

"  The  preparations  for  the  marriage  were  very  little  dis- 
cussed. I  had  a  long  talk  with  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh 
over  all  the  details,  and  found  him  very  agreeable.     The 

2S3 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

music  is  to  be  by  the  Russian  choir.  There  are  at  the 
Winter  Palace  one  thousand  six  hundred  rooms  and  four 
thousand  inhabitants. 

"January  23d. — Now  we  are  all  arrayed — I  in  my  red 
robes  for  the  Russian  service,  to  be  exchanged  for  white 
for  the  English;  Augusta  in  lilac  and  resplendent  with 
diamonds;  Lady  Emma  in  pink.  At  twelve  we  start;  I 
with  my  two  chaplains,  the  two  English  clergymen.  .  .  . 
The  marriage  is  over.  Our  places  were  in  the  Imperial 
Chapel,  close  to  the  chancel  rails.  It  was  much  more  like 
a  family  gathering  than  anything  in  Western  churches. 
The  bride  and  bridegroom  are  closed  round  by  four  grooms- 
men (for  there  are  no  bridesmaids),  as  if  protecting  them, 
and  the  crowns  are  held  over  their  heads  so  long  as  to  give 
the  impression  of  a  more  than  fugitive  interest. 

"The  walking  round  and  round  the  altar,  with  these 
four  youths  pacing  with  them,  had  quite  the  effect  of — what 
originally  it  must  have  been — a  wedding  dance.  The  sing- 
ing was  magnificent.  The  Lord's  Prayer  again  struck  me 
as  the  most  beautiful  vocal  music  I  had  ever  heard.  I  got 
away  through  the  crowd  with  difficulty,  changed  my  red 
robe  for  my  white  one,  and  then  took  my  place  on  the  high 
platform  which  had  been  made  in  front  of  the  altar  that 
stood  against  the  screen.  All  the  curtains  were  drawn 
down  and  the  candles  lighted,  so  that  the  place  was  trans- 
formed. As  I  looked  down  upon  the  vast  array  of  ofiicers, 
etc.,  it  was  a  splendid  sight.  The  Russian  choir  was  on 
my  right,  the  English  residents  on  my  left,  the  English 
clergy  on  each  side,  and  the  five  Russian  clergy  came  in 
with  changed  garments  as  soon  as  their  service  was  over. 

"Then  came  up  the  hall  the  bride  and  bridegroom  and 
stood  before  me,  the  Emperor  and  Empress  on  their  right. 
The  music  of  the  choir  broke  out,  and  Psalm  xxi.  was  sung 
as  they  advanced. 

"  It  was  a  thrilling  moment  when,  for  the  first  and  last 
time  in  my  life,  I  addressed  each  by  their  Christian  name 
— Alfred  and  Marie.  The  first  part  of  the  service  I  read 
from  the  Coronation  prayer-book,  the  second  from  one  out 

284 


THE    SEVENTIES   TO    THE    EIGHTIES 

of  which  were  married  George  IV.,  the  Princess  Charlotte, 
WilHam  IV.,  the  Duke  of  Kent,  and  the  Prince  of  Wales. 
Then  came  the  final  benediction  and  the  chanting  of 
Psalm  xcii.  i,  2,  3. 

"  When  this  was  over  I  bowed  to  the  Emperor  and  Em- 
press, and  they  returned  it ;  and  I  then  turned  round  to  the 
metropolitans  and  kissed  their  hands.  The  Grand  Duke 
Constantine  was  exceedingly  kind,  and  said,  '  There  is  so 
much  that  we  have  in  common. ' 

"  At  4.30  followed  the  banquet.  There  were  eight  hun- 
dred guests.  Opposite  me  were  the  Emperor  and  a  whole 
hne  of  princes  and  princesses — the  four  heirs  of  England, 
Russia,  Denmark,  and  Germany.  The  last  is  like  a  sun- 
beam wherever  he  goes.  These  were  all  waited  on  by  the 
liigh  dignitaries  of  the  Court,  w^ho  stood  behind  and  talked 
to  them. 

"Then  at  9.30  a  ball,  or  rather  an  immense  evening 
party,  multitudes  and  multitudes  spreading  through  hall 
and  galleries,  in  one  of  which  the  princes  danced,  or  rather 
walked,  the  polonaise,  the  Emperor  once  walking  round 
with  Augusta. 

"  January  25th. — Did  I  describe  the  signing  of  the  regis- 
ter in  the  Malachite  Drawing-room  ?  It  was  my  work  to  sign 
first.  The  Grand  Duke  Vladimir  held  the  sheet  as  I  wrote, 
and  then  threw  sand  over  it  as  it  was  finished.  Then 
came  the  bride's  and  bridegroom's  and  twenty-five  other 
signatures,  beginning  with  the  Emperor's.  The  floor  of 
the  hall  w^as  almost  covered  with  the  trains  of  the  princesses. 
It  was  impossible  to  tread  here  or  there  without  putting 
one's  foot  on  one  or  other  of  them  as  on  a  separate  carpet. 
The  Crown  Princess  came  up  with  her  most  gracious  smile, 
and  said  to  one  of  the  grand  dukes  near  her,  '  You  could 
not  have  a  better  benediction  on  the  marriage.'" 

Stanley  describes  also  all  that  went  on  in  Moscow,  and 
it  should  be  remembered  that  whereas  one  of  the  Queen's 
grandchildren  became  Empress  of  Russia  in  after  years, 
her  sister,  another  grandchild,  became  the  Grand  Duchess 
Serge,  and  lived  at  Moscow,  her  husband  being  the  Govern- 

285 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

or-General.  Both  are  daughters  of  Princess  Ahce,  Grand 
Duchess  of  Hesse. 

"At  Moscow,"  said  the  Dean,  "there  was  an  immense 
crowd  and  immense  confusion.  In  the  morning  we  drove, 
by  order,  to  the  Kremlin.  A  large  assemblage  of  the  Court 
dignitaries.  At  last  a  door  opened  and  in  walked  the 
Emperor  and  the  Princess  of  Wales,  the  Prince  of  Wales 
with  the  Crown  Princess,  the  Crown  Prince  with  the  Czar- 
evna,  the  bride  and  bridegroom,  etc.  They  marched  straight 
on,  the  whole  of  their  promiscuous  Court  assemblage  follow- 
ing, through  the  great  halls  of  St.  Andrew,  St.  George,  and 
St.  Alexander,  down  through  the  ancient  Hall  of  the  Pa- 
triarchs ;  then  through  the  long  corridor  lined  with  peasants, 
in  their  peasant  dresses,  holding  in  their  hands  their  wed- 
ding-gifts of  cakes  and  other  things ;  and  then  through  a 
very  high  covered  space,  and  we  were  in  the  old  Cathedral 
Church.  There  was  instantly  sung  a  Te  Deum,  and  then 
all  the  members  of  the  Imperial  family  went  round  and 
kissed  the  sacred  pictures.  The  church  was  entirely  filled, 
strange  to  say,  not  only  with  grandees,  but  with  the  very 
humble  middle-class  and  peasants. 

"  At  10.30  there  was  a  ball  of  the  nobles — if  ball  that  can 
be  called  which  had  hardly  the  semblance  of  a  dance.  We 
found  ourselves  on  a  spacious  platform  protruding  into  an 
immense  hall,  crowded  as  thick  as  it  could  be  packed  with 
human  heads — like  the  Guildhall  on  a  nomination  day — a 
dense  assembly  of  more  than  four  thousand  people.  When 
the  Imperial  party  entered,  the  band  struck  up,  the  foun- 
tain in  the  far  distance  began  to  play  in  the  midst  of  a  sil- 
ver illumination,  and  a  long  line  of  sudden  light  ran  round 
the  two  sides  of  the  cornices  joining  at  each  end  of  the  hall. 

"On  Saturday  I  drove  to  the  Donskoi  Monastery. 
A  bright,  cold  day.  A  sledge  with  three  horses  tore  over 
the  deep  snow,  and  the  domes  and  towers  of  Moscow  jflashed 
in  the  glorious  sunlight." 

Stanley  had  written  formerly:  "How  strange  is  the 
sensation,  now  familiar  by  repetition,  yet  not  the  less 
thrilling  for  that,  to  rush  forward  to  a  sight  long  imagined, 

286 


THE   SEVENTIES   TO   THE    EIGHTIES 

and  beheld  for  the  first  time!  How  dehghtful,  I  must 
confess,  to  feel  that  even  after  Athens,  Rome,  Thebes,  and 
Jerusalem  there  is  a  flood  of  enthusiasm  still  to  be  let  forth 
at  one  more  glorious  view!  In  one  instant  it  breaks  upon 
you.  Looking  down  from  the  terraces  of  the  Kremlin 
is  the  whole  vast  expanse  of  the  sacred  city.  No  panorama 
has  given  me  the  impression  of  its  vast  extent.  It  is  like 
a  boundless  plain  of  green — the  green  roofs  diversified 
with  innumerable  islands  of  forest  and  garden,  out  of  which 
spring  up  like  weeds  and  flowers  the  blue,  red,  green,  yellow, 
silver,  golden  domes  of  hundreds  of  churches  and  convent 
towers.  The  river  flows  beneath,  beyond  on  the  horizon 
is  a  long  line  of  hills  crowned  with  firs,  behind  is  the  Krem- 
lin— such  a  collection  of  historical  and  architectural  marble 
as  I  have  not  seen  in  one  place  out  of  the  great  Piazza  of 
St.  Mark's. 

"  The  Kremlin  is  inexhaustible.  It  is  the  Tower,  West- 
minster Abbey,  Canterbury  Cathedral,  Windsor  Castle, 
Lambeth,  all  crammed  together  within  the  space  of  a  quar- 
ter of  an  hour's  circuit.  It  is  surrounded  by  a  vast  wall, 
exactly  like  that  of  the  Alhambra,  only  white  instead  of 
red,  even  to  the  flame-shaped  parapets.  The  wall  itself  is 
girdled  by  gateway  towers,  mostly  of  crusted  green.  Each 
of  the  gateway  towers  contains  a  gate  with  some  peculiar 
name,  one  being  the  Holy  Gate,  through  which  every 
human  being  passes  hat  in  hand,  even  the  Emperor  him- 
self doing  the  same. 

"Immediately  outside  the  Holy  Gateway  stands  the 
Church  of  St.  Basil,  built  by  the  mysterious,  monstrous, 
marvellous  Czar,  Ivan  the  Terrible,  the  son  of  Basil. 
Pagoda  on  pagoda,  pinnacle  on  pinnacle,  chapel  within 
chapel,  cupola  clustering  on  cupola,  dome  upon  dome — it  is 
senseless,  useless,  pointless,  but  most  characteristic  of  the 
man,  the  place,  and  the  time.  Hundreds  of  masons  and  ar- 
tists were  kidnapped  in  Lubeck  to  build  it.  The  architect 
had  his  eyes  put  out  that  he  might  never  build  another. 

"You  enter  the  Kremlin,  and  then  come,  jostled  together 
in  the  wildest  confusion,  four  palaces,  two  monasteries,  four 

287 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

cathedrals,  seven  churches,  and  I  know  not  what  besides. 
Three  Imperial  palaces  are  all  attached  together.  They 
represent  the  three  elements  of  the  Empire — the  old  barbaric 
grotesqueness,  the  modern  magnificence  of  the  Emperor's 
State,  and  the  unadorned  simplicity  of  his  private  life. 
The  last  speaks  for  itself ;  the  second  is  represented  in  the 
three  great  halls  of  St.  George,  St.  Vladimir,  and  St.  An- 
drew, each  opening  into  the  other,  till  at  the  end  of  St.  An- 
drew's Hall  you  come  upon  the  throne  of  the  Czar,  blazing 
with  the  emblems  of  all  the  Russian  provinces,  as  each 
hall  blazes  with  the  emblems  of  the  three  superior  orders. 
Nothing  in  any  other  palace,  ancient  or  modern.  Eastern 
or  Western,  can  be  named  with  this  suite  of  gorgeous 
grandeur." 

Stanley  asked  one  of  the  clergy  what  lesson  he  thought 
the  Western  Churches  could  learn  from  the  Russian,  and 
summarized  his  answer  thus :  "  What  I  chiefly  expect  and 
hope  for  is  the  pacifjdng  effect  which  will  be  produced  on 
the  controversies  of  the  West  when  they  come  to  a  knowl- 
edge of  a  Church  which  has  never  entered  into  these  con- 
troversies ;  which  has  stood  firm  on  the  basis  of  the  early 
centuries  before  they  rose ;  which  has  a  deeply  rooted  idea 
of  the  fixed  and  stable  character  of  the  ancient  traditions, 
without  the  slightest  tendency  to  proselytize." 

The  English  Dean  appreciated  the  union  of  a  religious 
fervor  in  the  Russian  Church,  unparalleled  in  Europe, 
with  so  complete  a  tolerance  of  the  faith  of  others,  and  so 
ready  a  recognition  of  our  point  of  view ;  also  the  advantage 
to  the  Western  Christian  in  contemplating  a  Church  which 
stands  to  us  on  ground  so  untrodden,  and  alternately  cuts 
across  the  narrow  prejudices  both  of  Protestants  and  Roman 
Catholics.  He  asked  himself,  would  its  fervor  and  zeal 
ever  turn  with  full  force  into  a  moral  channel?  "The 
religious  principle  among  them  is  so  strong  and  so  simple, 
and  yet,  for  the  most  part,  so  little  directed  against  the 
moral  evils  of  the  country." 

The  bride  at  whose  marriage  Dean  Stanley  had  assisted 
in  Russia  came  to  Windsor  in  March,  1874.     "The  Queen 

288 


THE   SEVENTIES   TO   THE    EIGHTIES 

invited  us  to  come  here  on  Friday  evening,"  he  wrote,  "so 
as  to  be  in  time  for  the  reception  of  the  members  of  the  family 
that  were  in  England,  who  came  either  that  day  or  the  next. 
Besides  these  and  the  household  there  were  no  other  guests. 
The  day  itself  was  one  such  as  we  rarely  see  in  England  at 
this  season,  such  as  is  described  by  one  of  our  English 
poets : 

"  '  Sweet  day,  so  cool,  so  calm,  so  bright. 
The  bridal  of  the  earth  and  sky.' 

Not  only  splendid  in  itself,  but  unlike  our  variable  climate 
— so  fixedly,  solidly  fine  that  rain  and  mist  were  as  im- 
possible as  during  the  brilliant  winters  in  Russia.  The 
coming  in  of  March  was  that  of  a  lamb,  as  gentle,  as  pure, 
as  spotless  as  ever  followed  St.  Agnes. 

"We  saw  the  Queen  and  all  the  family,  except  Prince 
Arthur,  who  had  gone  to  meet  arrivals  at  Gravesend. 
Drove  out  through  the  park,  and  down  a  long  avenue  of 
gardens,  amid  a  crowd  of  boys  from  the  great  school  of 
Eton.  We  waited  till  we  saw  the  head  of  the  returning 
procession,  and  then  went  down  to  the  entrance  of  the 
castle  with  the  other  members  of  the  household  to  receive 
the  Queen  and  the  bridal  pair. 

"The  Queen  and  her  daughter-in-law  stepped  out  first, 
and  as  soon  as  they  had  passed  inside  the  doors  she  kissed 
her  most  warmly.  My  dear  wife  and  I  waited  until  the 
carriage  arrived  containing  our  old  St.  Petersburg  friends, 
and  you  may  imagine  what  a  cordial  greeting  passed  be- 
tween us.  We  then  all  followed  through  the  corridor,  which 
is  a  kind  of  artery  to  the  whole  palace,  and  then  the  Queen 
introduced  all  the  members  of  the  household  to  the  Grand 
Duchess,  who  looks  full  of  radiance  in  the  midst  of  her 
new  home.  There  was  no  flaw  or  chill  of  any  kind. 
The  Queen  was  delighted,  the  bride  and  bridegroom  quite 
at  their  ease,  and  so  ended  the  virdvrr],  if  that  is  not  too 
sacred  a  word  to  use  of  what  is,  however,  like  all  domestic 
unions,  a  truly  sacred  thing." 

In  the  summer  the  Emperor  of  Russia  paid  a  visit  to  Eng- 
T  289 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

land.  At  the  luncheon  given  to  the  Emperor  at  Marl- 
borough House  both  Lord  Beaconsfield  and  Mr.  Gladstone 
were  present.  Stanley  was  also  there,  standing,  after 
luncheon,  with  Mr.  Gladstone.  Disraeli,  as  he  passed  them, 
turned  to  Gladstone  and  said — alluding  to  a  declaration 
Mr.  Gladstone  had  made  after  his  defeat  that  he  would 
retire  from  public  life — "with  a  mixture  of  comedy  and 
tragedy  expressed  on  his  countenance,  'You  must  come 
back  to  us;  indeed,  we  cannot  possibly  do  without  you.' 
Mr.  Gladstone,  with  more  than  usual  severity,  answered, 
'  There  are  things  possible,  and  there  are  things  impossible. 
What  you  ask  me  to  do  is  one  of  the  things  which  are  im- 
possible,' Upon  that  Disraeli  turned  to  me,  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  public  present,  and  said,  'You  see  what 
it  is — the  wrath,  the  inexorable  wrath,  of  Achilles.'" 

The  visit  of  the  Emperor  to  England  passed  off  very 
pleasantly.  He  attended  the  great  assemblage  at  the 
Foreign  Office,  and  appeared  much  in  public.  But  such 
visits  are  always  a  source  of  anxiety  to  the  police,  who 
know  how  many  crazy  persons  are  anxious  to  win  fame 
by  murder. 

There  was  that  peculiar  look  in  the  Emperor's  eyes — 
which  was  noticed  also  by  the  Queen  in  the  case  of  his 
father — a  pecuUarity  arising  from  the  occasional  lifting 
of  the  eyelids,  so  as  to  show  a  little  white  for  a  moment 
above  the  eyeball.  Yet  few  thought  that  his  terrible  and 
tragic  end  in  the  streets  of  his  own  capital  was  so  near  at 
hand.  In  the  enfranchisement  of  the  serfs,  and  in  many 
another  ameliorative  measure,  he  had  bravely  acted  for 
the  good  of  his  people,  despite  the  prejudices  and  influences 
of  many  of  the  most  powerful  in  the  official  classes  of  his 
nation. 

Another  pleasant  international  incident  took  place  at 
the  end  of  the  year,  when  thanks  were  given  to  the  Queen 
from  the  French  nation  for  the  assistance  rendered  by 
England  to  the  sick  and  wounded  during  the  war  which 
ended  three  years  before.  These  were  sent  by  the  councils- 
general  of  the  municipalities,  and  were  signed  by  over 

290 


THE   SEVENTIES   TO    THE    EIGHTIES 

twelve  million  people.  Lord  Derby,  as  Foreign  Minister, 
introduced  the  deputation  to  the  Queen  in  the  audience 
chamber  at  Windsor,  and  afterwards  the  Queen  had  a 
more  private  interview  with  the  Comte  Serrurier  and  his 
companions,  and  said  she  accepted  the  volumes  as  beau- 
tiful works  of  art,  but  "  their  chief  value  in  my  eyes  is 
that  they  form  a  permanent  memorial  of  the  gratitude  of 
the  French  people  for  services  rendered  to  them  by  Eng- 
lishmen acting  under  the  simple  impulse  of  hmnanity." 

The  French  and  English  acted  together  in  this  year 
in  Japan  in  withdrawing  their  small  force  of  occupa- 
tion, a  noteworthy  event,  for  it  heralded  the  marvellous 
change  which  two  short  decades  have  brought  about  in 
the  Far  East.  It  was  only  a  short  time  before  that  the 
English  Embassy  had  been  attacked  at  night.  Mr.  Lau- 
rence Oliphant,  the  author  of  Piccadilly,  and  other  works 
which  are  still  worth  reading,  was  among  the  diplomatists 
nearly  murdered,  their  lives  being  preserved  only  through 
the  accident  of  the  passage  in  which  they  ran  from  their 
bedrooms  having  so  low  a  roof  that  the  attacking  swords- 
men's blades  were  caught  as  they  hacked  at  the  unarmed 
Europeans. 

On  the  departure  of  the  corps  of  occupation  photographs 
were  given  to  the  officers — a  new  departure,  because  the 
sale  of  royal  likenesses  was  altogether  prohibited.  Japan 
became  determined  to  know  what  it  was  that  gave  the 
Europeans  such  superiority  in  war,  and  set  herself  earnestly 
to  the  task  by  sending  her  young  people  to  the  various 
capitals  of  Europe,  and  persuading  foreigners  to  allow 
Japanese  to  enter  their  military  and  naval  services.  The 
result  was  that  the  old  organization  of  society  in  Japan 
fell  like  a  pack  of  cards.  The  invisible  Tycoon,  a  sort  of 
fetish  emperor,  who  remained  in  a  kind  of  consecrated 
retirement,  had  his  office  abolished ;  and  the  great  tributary 
princes,  who  were  often  as  powerful  as  the  sovereign, 
had  their  supremacy  overthrown. 

The  East,  from  which  so  many  potent  influences  came 
in  the  earlier  history  of  mankind,  seems  likely  again  to 

291 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

press  upon  coming  centuries  its  mark,  for  vast  popula- 
tions of  highl}^  civilized  communities  must,  when  they 
wake  from  the  sleep  engendered  by  exclusion  and  routine, 
And  adopt  the  ways  of  the  West,  rise  both  in  naval  and  in 
/military  power.     We  have  always  been  in  touch  with  our 

(Aryan  cousins  in  the  East.  We  have  been  thankful  to 
many  of  their  princes  for  loyalty  and  devotion  in  co-operat- 
ing with  the  government  of  India,  and  it  was  to  mark  the 
sense  of  the  importance  they  hold  in  the  comity  of  our 
Imperial  State  that  the  Prince  of  Wales  undertook,  in  1875, 
a  memorable  visit  to  India. 

At  Bombay  there  was  a  banquet  to  two  thousand  sailors 
of  the  fleet.  There  was  a  great  concourse  from  the  whole 
of  the  Presidency,  Hindoos  with  turbans  of  red  or  white, 
Mohammedans  in  green,  Parsees  with  black  robes  and 
high  hats  diminishing  towards  the  top  from  a  bump  in 
front.  There  were  magnificent  illuminations,  every 
window  being  lit  and  the  public  buildings  traced  out  in 
red,  blue,  and  green.  The  Guicowar  had  a  corps  of  men 
dressed  in  Highland  costume,  and  there  were  twelve  thou- 
sand school-children  arranged  in  one  place.  A  visit  was 
paid  to  the  wonderful  caves  of  the  Temple  of  Elephanta, 
situated  on  the  Isle  of  Ghara  Puri,  a  vast  and  ancient 
Brahmin  temple  with  caves  over  one  hundred  and  thirty 
feet  long,  probably  entirely  made  by  the  hand  of  man. 

Then  to  the  capital  of  the  Mahrattah  country,  Poonah, 
where  a  review  was  held.  Then  to  Baroda,  where  the 
Guicowar  and  his  Prime  Minister,  Sir  Madhava  Rhao, 
arranged  a  most  picturesque  and  beautiful  reception. 
The  young  Guicowar  was  only  twelve  years  of  age,  but  he 
had  organized  a  great  show.  Elephants  butted  each  other  ; 
two  rhinoceri  were  pitted  one  against  the  other.  Twenty- 
four  State  elephants  trumpeted  a  welcome  as  the  Prince's 
party  took  their  seats.  The  elephants  were  painted  in 
various  colors ;  there  were  no  two  alike,  but  all  bore  clothing 
of  marvellous  hues.  The  effect  was  most  extraordinary. 
The  elephant  bout  is  described  as  having  taken  place  be- 
tween two  animals  bare  except  for  a  small  padding  on  their 

292 


THE   SEVENTIES   TO   THE   EIGHTIES 

back,  and  they  had  been  made  combative  by  various  drugs 
and  foods.  One  was  a  very  large  creature,  the  other  smaller 
but  more  energetic.  The  larger  one  seemed  inclined  to 
charge  the  attendants  and  to  run  his  head  against  the  wall 
rather  than  against  his  opponent.  But  thej^  finally  agreed 
to  differ,  and  butted  each  other,  forehead  to  forehead,  and 
tusk  to  tusk,  their  trunks  often  above  their  heads.  They 
could  not  do  each  other  serious  injury,  because  their  tusks 
had  been  cut  close  to  prevent  any  wounds,  and  the  Prince 
had  especially  asked  that  the  animals  should  not  be  allowed 
to  do  each  other  any  hurt,  as  he  only  wished  to  see  how 
they  fought  and  not  the  fight  itself.  The  bigger  elephant 
soon  got  tired,  and  turned  his  back  to  his  antagonist,  but 
the  little  one  thought  this  an  insult  to  his  own  importance, 
and  charged  again  and  again  the  hmdquarters  of  his 
opponent,  at  last  driving  him  against  the  wall.  But  when 
they  began  to  get  angry,  any  further  contest  was  stopped. 
It  was  nothing  but  a  sham  fight. 

A  day's  sport  with  antelope  chased  by  the  tame  Indian 
cheetah  was  also  exhibited.  Visiting  the  little  Portuguese 
settlement  of  Goa,  on  his  way  to  Ceylon,  Colombo  was 
reached  soon  afterwards.  An  address  was  presented, 
the  Cingalese  wearing  their  curious  costumes — a  short 
jacket,  great  petticoat,  low  shoes,  and  their  hair  allowed 
to  grow  long  and  done  up  in  a  kind  of  chignon  bound  by  a 
long  crescent-shaped  comb.  It  was  noted  that  the  people 
were  even  more  demonstrative  in  their  cheering  than  at 
Bombay. 

From  Colombo  the  Prince  went  to  Trichinopoly,  a  strik- 
ing place,  where  a  great  rock  rises  in  the  centre  of  the  plain 
six  hundred  feet  above  the  river,  the  scene  of  a  remarkable 
British  success  in  1753.  Madras,  with  its  long  lines  of 
rolling  surf,  was  next  visited,  and  the  Prince  was  enter- 
tained at  a  great  race  meeting,  and  had  the  opportunity 
of  having  presented  to  him  the  leading  natives.  The 
illumination  of  the  surf  gave  a  unique  spectacle. 

Calcutta,  then  under  the  viceroyalty  of  Lord  Northbrook, 
welcomed  him  next.     The  Maharajahs  of  Puttiala,  Jodh- 

293 


VICTORIA  R.I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

pore,  Jeypore,  and  Cashmere,  and  the  Begum  of  Bhopal 
and  others,  came  to  pay  their  respects,  in  each  case  being 
received  with  guards  of  honor  and  salute.  "There  is," 
said  the  Times  correspondent,  "in  each  case  a  salute  of 
guns  according  to  the  visitor's  rank.  Then  a  guard  of 
honor,  with  a  band,  present  arms  on  his  arrival.  Next  he 
is  met  at  a  distance  of  five  hundred  yards  by  an  of&cer, 
and  also  by  two  of  the  Prince's  aides-de-camp.  At  the  foot 
of  the  stairs  another  ofl&cer  receives  and  takes  him  to  the 
audience  chamber.  He  is  followed  by  his  sirdars,  who 
take  their  place  in  an  outer  room  until  summoned  by  their 
chief  to  be  presented. 

"At  the  entrance  of  the  audience  chamber  the  Prince 
of  Wales  met  each  guest,  took  his  hand,  and  led  him  to  the 
sofa  where  they  held  their  conversation,  the  political  ofi&cers 
standing  by  their  side.  After  the  usual  rose-water  and 
betel-nuts  have  been  given  by  the  Prince,  and  the  sirdars 
summoned  and  presented,  the  audience  is  over,  and  the 
chief  and  his  suite  are  conducted  back  as  they  arrived. 
The  lady  sovereign  of  Bhopal  was  so  thickly  veiled  she 
could  not  be  seen,  nor  did  she  uncover  her  face  throughout 
the  audience.  All  the  chiefs  appeared  in  magnificent 
State,  and  were  very  desirous  of  making  beautiful  presents. 
The  Maharajahs  of  Sindhia  and  of  Cashmere  desired  to 
give  gifts  to  the  value  of  £50,000;  but  these  kindly  offers, 
on  account  of  a  rule  established  long  since,  could  not  be 
accepted." 

Nothing  could  exceed  the  splendid  welcome  given  by 
India's  princes  on  India's  soil.  The  Prince  returned  all 
their  visits.  There  was  a  Levee  at  Government  House 
and  a  State  dinner  in  the  magnificent  rooms  and  vast  build- 
ing, whose  flight  of  steps  and  columned  portico  have  seen 
so  many  of  those  pass  who  have  made  of  the  many  nations 
of  India  one  great  empire  devoted  to  the  British  crown. 

The  investiture  of  the  Star  of  India  was  held  in  an  en- 
campment on  the  Maidan,  a  plain  near  Government  House. 
Inside  were  rows  of  seats  for  the  knights,  and  enclosures 
for  the  spectators.     At  one  end,  on  a  dais  of  blue  and  silver, 

294 


THE   SEVENTIES   TO   THE   EIGHTIES 

there  were  two  chairs  for  the  Prince  and  the  Viceroy. 
Knight  commanders  entered  the  tent  in  full  costume,  and 
attended  by  pages  and  banner-bearers.  The  followers  of 
many  of  the  great  princes  and  chiefs  were  described  as 
"animated  nuggets  and  ambulatory  mines  of  jewels." 

The  Prince's  procession  entered  the  tent  in  two  lines. 
The  Prince  wore  a  field -marshal's  uniform  with  white 
helmet  and  plume,  his  train  being  carried  by  two  naval 
cadets  in  cavalier  hats  and  cloaks,  tunic,  and  trunk  hose 
of  blue  satin.  When  the  tent  was  all  full  of  glittering  jew- 
els and  costumes,  under  the  waving  banners  the  roll  of  the 
order  was  read,  and  every  knight  answered  to  his  name. 

The  Rajah  of  Jheend  was  among  those  who  were  created 
Knight  Grand  Commander.  Seventeen  guns  were  fired 
for  each  Maharajah.  When  he  had  received  the  ribbon, 
the  badge,  and  the  star,  his  banner  was  unfurled,  a  flourish 
of  trumpets  was  given,  and  the  knight's  titles  proclaimed. 
This  closed  a  long  ceremony,  and  the  processions  returned 
as  they  came. 

Charles  Mathews  appeared  at  the  theatre  in  the  evening, 
and  £ioo  for  a  box  was  given.  The  General  Hospital  was 
inspected,  and  much  hope  at  that  time  was  aroused  by  Dr. 
Fayrer's  attempts  to  counteract  the  effect  of  snake  bite. 

Benares,  the  sacred  city  of  the  Hindoos,  was  next  seen. 
The  Rajah  of  Vizianagram  was  visited  after  a  reception  at  a 
military  camp,  and,  embarking  on  the  Ganges  in  a  decorat- 
ed boat,  the  Prince  was  towed  up  the  river  to  Ramanagar, 
where  the  Maharajah  of  Benares  waited  for  him  at  the  river 
bank,  and  had  him  conveyed  up  the  hill  to  his  castle  in  a 
gold  and  silver  chair.  There  was  a  procession  of  elephants, 
camels,  mace  -  bearers,  and  armed  followers,  and  in  his 
castle  the  Maharajah  presented  the  Prince  with  beautiful 
brocaded  shawls,  and,  mounting  to  the  roof,  begged  him  to 
look  down  on  the  illuminated  citj^  which  was  a  wonderful 
sight,  the  houses  rising  in  row  after  row  above  the  river, 
crowded  with  boats,  each  showing  a  light.  Fireworks 
ascended  everywhere,  and  were  reflected  on  the  flowing 
waters. 

295 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

Then  onward  to  the  fateful  Lucknow,  the  capital  of  the 
ancient  kingdom  of  Oude,  forfeited  on  account  of  dis- 
loyalty in  the  mutiny.  From  various  points  of  view  the 
scene  made  so  memorable  in  that  decisive  contest  was 
viewed  by  the  party  from  England.  The  talookdars,  or 
great  land-owners,  gathered  to  present  an  address  and  a 
crown  set  with  jewels.  On  one  day  there  was  a  boar 
hunt,  at  which  the  Prince  killed  one ;  while  Lord  Carring- 
ton,  owing  to  his  horse  being  charged  by  a  boar,  fell  and 
broke  his  collar-bone. 

At  Delhi,  Lord  Napier,  of  Magdala,  and  fifteen  thousand 
troops,  and  a  Levee  at  noon,  marked  the  Prince's  arrival. 
The  next  days  were  devoted  to  military  and  archaeological 
expeditions,  for  nowhere  are  there  more  remarkable  monu- 
ments of  the  extinct  dynasties  than  at  Delhi,  the  capital 
of  the  Great  Mogul. 

A  long  night  journey  took  the  Prince  to  that  famous 
centre  of  loyalty  and  warlike  prowess,  and  remarkable 
races  ruled  by  splendid  chiefs,  called  the  Punjaub.  The 
chiefs  were  encamped  about  the  city,  and,  before  entering 
it,  the  Prince  drove  through  their  camps,  which  extended 
for  some  miles.  "Never  was  anything  more  beautiful. 
The  very  spirit  of  chivalry  hovered  over  the  martial  faces 
and  noble  forms  of  the  grand  stately  chiefs  making  obei- 
sance." 

The  Prince  returned  all  the  native  princes'  visits  on  the 
following  day,  and  then  went  on  to  Cashmere,  a  wonderful 
country,  whose  famous  valley  has  a  beautiful  river  wind- 
ing in  loops,  which  is  supposed  to  have  originated  the  pear- 
shape  or  loop  pattern  so  conspicuous  in  the  Cashmere 
shawls.  •  The  Maharajah  met  the  Prince  seven  miles  from 
his  capital,  Jummoo,  which  is  built  upon  a  low-lying  spur 
of  the  HimalajT^as  overlooking  the  river,  which  had  a  great 
flotilla  of  boats  upon  it,  while  manj^  elephants  were  paraded 
upon  the  bank.  Here  again,  in  a  splendid  building,  the 
Prince  received  our  loyal  friends.  The  lovely  country  was 
seen,  hunting  was  enjoyed,  and  the  sovereign  of  this  beau- 
tiful land  insisted  on  presenting  the  Prince  with  a  mag- 

296 


THE   SEVENTIES   TO   THE   EIGHTIES 

nificent  jewelled  sword.  Then  eastward  again  to  Agra, 
where  the  Golden  Temple  was  illuminated,  and  Puttiala 
was  visited,  a  grand  reception  being  accorded  by  its  gal- 
lant and  loyal  chief. 

It  was  during  the  year  that  saw  the  Prince's  progress\ 
through  the  Indian  Empire  that  Mr.  Disraeli,  who  was  ) 
to  become  Lord  Beaconsfield  in  the  following  year,  made 
on  behalf  of  the  British  government  the  great  purchase 
of  the  shares  of  the  Suez  Canal,  which  gave  us  a  voice  in 
the  administration  of  that  wonderful  work,  which  was  the 
realization  of  the  dream  of  the  Pharaohs  and  the  triumph  \ 
of  French  engineering — for  our  own  men  of  that  branch  of    ^ 
science  can  lay  no  claim  to  the  credit  of  an  enterprise  they 
at  one  time  pronounced  impossible. 

When  one  thinks  of  the  immense  saving  of  time  effected 
by  the  passage  to  India  by  the  Suez  route,  as  compared 
with  the  long  voyage  round  the  Cape,  we  must  feel  grate- 
ful for  the  indefatigable  labors  of  M.  de  Lesseps.  India 
has  been  brought  much  nearer  to  us,  and  yet  our  influence 
there  was  acquired  in  times  when  the  voyage  took  sailing 
vessels  about  three  months — months  often  enjoyed  as  a 
period  of  rest  and  refreshment  by  hard-working  men  in 
military  or  civilian  service. 

Lord  Macaulay,  among  others,  used  to  say  that  no 
time  was  more  pleasant  to  him  than  that  spent  in  the  spa- 
cious cabins  of  the  old  East  India  clippers  in  the  years 
when  he  had  to  go  backward  and  forward  between  Lon- 
don and  Calcutta,  and  only  at  sea  found  time  to  read  the 
books  in  which  he  delighted — and  he  was  not  contented 
with  reading  a  book  once.  I  have  three  volumes  of  Paoli 
Sarpi,  an  Italian  historian,  which  belonged  to  him,  the 
pages  of  which  are  annotated  over  and  over  again  by  the 
great  historian,  all  the  notes  having  beeen  written  in  his 
cabin  at  sea. 

Lord  Lytton  succeeded  Lord  Northbrook  as  Viceroy  of 
India,  and  it  was  from  the  mouth  of  Lord  Lytton  that  the 
assumption  of  the  Queen's  title  as  Empress  of  India  was 
announced  at  Delhi  in  a  magnificent  durbar.     The  title 

297 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

was  an  addition  to  that  of  Queen,  and  was  a  natural  con- 
sequence of  the  direct  government  of  India  being  vested  in 
the  British  sovereign  in  Ueu  of  the  old  Company.  For 
where  there  are,  as  in  the  East,  many  nations  under  many 
kings,  the  title  of  Empress  is  a  proper  one  to  use  as  defining 
the  over-lordship,  which  has,  by  the  experience  of  all  ages, 
found  its  best  designation  in  the  word  "  emperor,"  meaning 
the  head  of  an  empire. 

A  long  and  terrible  chapter  of  frontier  wars  in  the  Afghan 
country  began  with  the  murder  at  Cabul  of  Cavagnari, 
the  British  envoy.  The  disasters  brought  prominently 
to  the  front  the  genius  of  Lord  Roberts,  the  brilliancy  of 
whose  deeds  shine  through  the  modest  narrative  of  his 
success  as  given  by  himself.  His  march  from  Cabul  to 
Candahar  is  a  household  word  in  the  military  annals  of 
India,  fertile  as  they  are  in  marvellous  achievements,  from 
the  days  of  Assaye  to  those  of  Dargai. 

The  affairs  of  another  continent  in  which  he  was  des- 
tined afterwards  to  act  a  great  part  awakened  anxiety  in 
the  years  when  Lord  Carnarvon  had  proposed  a  confedera- 
tion of  the  South  African  colonies.  Sir  Bartle  Frere  had 
urged  him  to  this,  and  he  had  seen  that  it  was  necessary 
to  assert  our  position  if  we  were  to  keep  it  in  South  Africa, 
both  in  the  eyes  of  the  natives  and  the  settlers  of  Dutch  de- 
scent. Already  the  ambition  to  be  free  of  any  British  con- 
nection had  possessed  the  hearts  of  the  Boers,  who  made 
trek  after  trek  in  order  to  get  away  from  a  rule  which  gave 
equal  rights  to  all,  and  objected  to  any  form  of  oppression 
whether  against  settlers  or  natives.  The  country  beyond 
the  Vaal  was  not  known  to  be  possessed  of  great  mineral 
wealth,  but  it  was  annexed  by  proclamation  in  1877,  so 
that  the  solidarity  in  civilization  might  pave  the  way  for  a 
confederation  supported  by  British  financial  credit.  The 
Boers,  who  had  only  a  few  shillings  in  their  treasury,  were 
at  one  time  not  averse  to  such  an  arrangement. 

While  the  British  Empire  was  thus  forging  ahead,  de- 
fining or  enlarging  its  frontiers,  many  of  its  citizens  looked 
I  with  favor,  and  some  with  apprehension,  at  the  menace  of 

298 


THE   SEVENTIES   TO   THE   EIGHTIES 

the  break-up  of  the  Turkish  Empire,  where  the  massacres  \ 
of  the  Christians  in  Bulgaria,  owing  to  attempts  at  insur-  \^ 
rection  which  they  had  made,  gave  Russia  an  opportunity   ' 
of  interference. 

A  new  Sultan  in  1876  succeeded  Abdul  Azziz,  who  was 
supposed  to  have  bled  himself  to  death,  and  with  a  new 
possessor  of  the  Ottoman  throne  new  hopes  arose  for  re- 
form and  for  the  postponement  of  that  ruin  which  Turkish 
barbarity  and  maladministration  threatened  to  turn  to  the 
profit  of  the  conquering  Northern  Power.  Turkey  was  to 
be  given  another  chance.  There  was  a  conference  at 
Constantinople  at  which  the  Sultan  accepted  the  reforms 
urged  upon  him  as  necessary  by  his  Western  friends,  only 
to  be  shortly  afterwards  again  evaded.  Russia  declared 
war  on  April  24,  1877,  against  the  Porte.  The  British 
fleet  was  ordered  to  Constantinople  in  February,  1878.  In 
their  passage  through  the  Dardanelles  it  seemed  very 
doubtful  whether  the  Turks  would  not  open  fire  from  the 
forts  guarding  the  entrance ;  but  we  were  determined,  if 
Constantinople  was  to  fall,  to  have  a  hand  in  the  subse- 
quent arrangements.  The  Duke  of  Edinburgh  was  one  of 
the  British  officers  whose  duty  it  was  to  force  the  Straits, 
and  to  answer  the  Turkish  guns  should  they  open  fire. 

The  Russians  were  called  upon  to  engage  in  fearful 
fighting  from  the  time  they  crossed  the  Danube  until  after 
the  defiles  of  the  Balkans  had  been  passed.  They  had  with 
them  the  troops  of  the  new  State  of  Roumania,  under  the 
guidance  of  their  able  sovereign.  Prince  Charles  of  Hohen- 
zollern;  and  the  Turks,  under  Osman  Pasha,  intrenched 
at  Plevna,  had  to  endure  the  assaults  of  the  descendants  of 
the  old  Roman  colonists,  as  well  as  of  the  Russians. 

Most  gallantly  was  column  after  column  thrown  against 
the  mud  walls  and  ditches  by  which  Osman  had  made  for 
himself  and  his  army  an  almost  impregnable  fortress.      y 
The  artillery  fire  of  the  Russians  could  hardly  seriously     ,' 
affect  the  men  hidden  in  the  deep  ditches  dug  by  the  Turks,     / 
who,  laying  their  rifles  upon  the  tops  of  the  parapets,  had    I 
them  so  arranged  as  to  sweep  any  place  whence  an  assault 

299 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

could  be  delivered,  while  they  themselves  rarely  raised 
anything  bvit  their  hands  above  the  mud  walls  to  discharge 
their  pieces.  The  advancing  stormers  w^ere  repulsed  again 
and  again. 

The  carnage  was  fearful,  and  when  in  rare  instances 
Turk  and  Russian  came  to  hand-to-hand  fighting,  owing 
to  some  specially  daring  and  well-pressed  attack,  there 
was  so  little  difference  between  the  physical  power  of  the 
men  that  the  murderous  wrestling  caused  a  loss  of  life  so 
large  in  proportion  to  the  numbers  engaged,  that  the  fig- 
ures of  the  dead  or  injured  were  more  like  those  resulting 
from  the  battles  of  the  past  centuries. 

Again,  in  the  Balkans,  the  Turks  under  Zuleiman  Pasha, 
after  Osman  had  surrendered  Plevna,  offered  prolonged 
and  desperate  resistance.  One  great  mountain  barrier  in 
the  Shipka  Pass,  a  fort  called  St.  Nicholas,  was  taken  and 
retaken  several  times  before  the  Turks,  more  than  decimated 
by  the  Russian  artillery  and  rifle  fire,  could  be  induced  to 
give  way.  Adrianople  at  last  saw  the  Russian  army 
gathered  within  her  walls,  and  her  enemy  throw^n  back 
from  the  lines  covering  the  "sweet  waters"  of  the  Sea 
of  Marmora. 

The  treaty  of  San  Stefano  saved  Constantinople  from 
the  Russians,  whose  losses  had  been  very  great.  On 
March  3,  1878,  the  Emperor  and  his  officers  turned  north- 
ward from  a  spot  whence  they  could  see  the  domes  and 
minarets  of  Stamboul,  and,  lying  on  the  water  between  them 
and  the  Mosque  of  San  Sofia,  the  war-ships  of  the  British 
navy.  Never  were  we  nearer  war  with  a  great  European 
power.  Six  millions  had  been  voted  on  the  supplementary 
war  estimate  by  the  large  majority  of  two  hundred  and 
four.     Two  ministers  of  pacific  views  had  resigned. 

It  was  known  that  Indian  troops  would  be  summoned 
to  take  their  part  in  the  defence  of  the  Mediterranean,  but 
the  menacing  misfortune  was  averted,  and  a  European 
congress  was  summoned  at  Berlin,  resulting  in  a  con- 
vention by  which  we  occupied  Cyprus,  and  in  June,  1878, 
the  representatives  of  the  Great  Powers,  assembled   in 

300 


TIIK    QUKKN    AT   THE    AGE    OF    SIXTY-SIX 


THE    SEVENTIES   TO    THE    EIGHTIES 

congress,  forced  certain  conditions  on  Turkey,  strength- 
ened the  position  of  Bulgaria,  Servia,  and  Roumania,  and 
gave  Turkey  another  lease  of  life.  Lord  Beaconsfield 
and  Lord  Salisbury  received  the  Garter  and  the  freedom 
of  the  City  of  London,  and  it  was  declared  that  they  had 
secured  "peace  with  honor." 

The  Parliament  of  1876  was  opened  by  the  Queen  in 
person  in  very  bad  weather,  which  her  subjects  noted  with 
some  surprise.  "Queen's  weather"  had  become  a  term 
of  praise  for  the  behavior  of  the  elements  almost  whenever 
Britain's  sovereign  confided  in  that  climate  which  has 
been  denied  by  an  American  to  exist  at  all,  in  the  declara- 
tion that  we  have  only  "  samples  of  weather. "  Again  there 
was  a  loving  reception,  the  cheering  as  of  old,  and  the 
shouting  of  Westminster  School  boys  to  finish  up  the 
chorus  of  loj'al  acclamation  before  the  Queen  entered  the 
House.  The  old  ceremonial  was  again  observed  which 
seated  the  princesses  on  the  woolsack,  facing  the  throne, 
with  their  backs  to  the  chamber,  a  custom  which  prevailed 
to  the  end  of  the  reign,  and  was  only  altered  in  the  first 
Parliament  of  King  Edward  VII.,  when  the  ladies  of  the 
family  took  their  places  on  each  side  of  the  cloth  of  estate. 

The  Queen  being  seated  on  the  throne,  the  usual  bois- 
terous rush  behind  the  decorous  Speaker  was  made  by  the 
members  of  the  House  of  Commons  to  obtain  a  place  at  the 
bar,  and  when  silence  was  again  fully  restored  the  Lord 
Chancellor  knelt  before  the  Queen  and  offered  her  the 
speech  as  though  she  would  herself  read  it.  But  she,  ac- 
cording to  her  previously  expressed  intention,  only  touched 
the  paper,  and  signed  to  him  to  read  it.  After  this  had  been 
done,  the  Queen,  rising  and  bowing  on  each  side  to  the 
peers,  quitted  the  chamber,  her  procession  marshalled 
before  and  behind  her.  She  wore  a  black  dress  trimmed 
with  miniver,  a  diamond  crown,  and  tulle  veil. 

Queen's  weather  prevailed  on  a  Tuesday  in  the  middle 
of  March,  although  there  was  a  cold  and  piercing  wind, 
when  she  visited  the  East  End  of  London — a  region  in 
which  she  always  took  the  greatest  interest,  and  about 

301 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

which  she  was  always  glad  to  hear.  She  liked  to  see 
what  she  could  of  it  herself,  and  to  receive  the  very 
hearty  welcome  of  its  people.  Her  new  title  of  Empress 
of  India  was  foreordained  by  one  specially  prophetic 
East-Ender,  who  put  "Welcome,  Empress  of  India"  on 
his  house.  All  along  Whitechapel  there  was  a  double 
line  of  Venetian  masts  with  garlands,  festoons,  and  bunt- 
ing in  endless  profusion. 

She  went  in  semi-state  with  Life  Guards  along  the  Em- 
bankment, and  so  on  to  the  London  Hospital,  where,  ac- 
companied by  the  Lord  Mayor  and  all  his  following,  she 
passed  through  the  wards  of  the  Grocers'  Company,  a 
wing  which  she  named  after  herself  and  her  daughter 
(Princess  Beatrice).  There  was  singing  by  a  choir,  pres- 
entation of  addresses,  and  then  all  the  old  wards  of  the 
hospital  were  entered  and  the  patients  spoken  with. 

Then  came  the  turn  of  the  children  in  another  ward; 
one  little  child,  who  was  severely  burned,  crying  out  that 
she  would  get  well  if  she  could  only  see  the  Queen,  who  at 
once  went  to  her,  talking  to  her  and  telling  her  of  her  hope 
that  she  would  soon  be  well  again. 

There  was  no  doubt  that  the  Queen's  presence  and 
words  were  in  some  cases  sufficient  to  do  that  which  the 
panacea  of  the  king's  touch  was  supposed  to  do  in  the 
days  of  superstition.  The  belief  in  cure  and  the  good 
spirits  favored  by  hope  are,  in  many  cases,  sufficient  to 
give  a  turn  to  maladies  that  weaken  before  a  strengthen- 
ing of  the  nerves. 

The  Grocers'  Company  that  evening  had  a  most  joyous 
dinner  in  their  hall,  and  the  streets  of  the  City  were  crowded 
and  illuminated. 

In  1878  the  Princess  Alice  caught  diphtheria  from  her 
child  whom  she  devotedly  nursed,  and  died  on  the  very 
day  of  the  anniversary  of  her  father's  death.  She  was 
laid  to  rest  at  Rosenhohe,  a  beautiful  recumbent  figure 
by  Boehm  of  mother  and  child  being  placed  above  her 
grave. 

The  Queen  wrote  the  following  letter  to  the  nation  : 

302 


THE   SEVENTIES   TO   THE   EIGHTIES 

"December  26th. 

"  The  Queen  is  anxious  to  take  the  earliest  opportunity 
of  expressing  publicly  her  heartfelt  thanks  for  the  universal 
and  most  touching  sympathy  shown  to  her  by  all  classes 
of  her  loyal  and  faithful  subjects  on  the  present  occasion 
when  it  has  pleased  God  to  call  from  this  world  her  dearly 
beloved  daughter,  Princess  Alice,  Grand  Duchess  of  Hesse. 

"  Overwhelmed  with  grief  at  the  loss  of  a  dear  child,  who 
was  a  bright  example  of  loving  tenderness,  courageous 
devotion,  and  self-sacrifice  to  duty,  it  is  most  soothing  to 
the  Queen's  feelings  to  see  how  entirely  her  grief  is  shared 
bjT^  her  people.  The  Queen's  deeply  afflicted  son-in-law, 
the  Grand  Duke  of  Hesse,  is  also  anxious  to  make  known 
his  sincere  gratitude  for  the  kind  feelings  expressed  towards 
himself  and  his  dear  children  in  their  terrible  bereavement, 
and  his  gratification  at  the  appreciation  shown  by  the 
people  of  England  of  the  noble  and  endearing  qualities  of 
her  whom  all  now  mourn. 

"  Seventeen  years  ago  at  this  very  time,  when  a  similar 
bereavement  crushed  the  Queen's  happiness,  and  this 
beloved  and  lamented  daughter  was  her  great  comfort  and 
support,  the  nation  evinced  the  same  touching  sympathy'', 
as  well  as  when,  in  December,  1871,  the  Prince  of  Wales 
was  at  the  point  of  death. 

"  Such  an  exhibition  of  true  and  tender  feeling  will  ever 
remain  engraven  on  the  Queen's  heart,  and  is  the  more 
to  be  valued  at  this  moment  of  great  distress  in  the  coun- 
try, which  no  one  more  deeply  deplores  than  the  Queen 
herself." 

The  home  life  of  the  Queen  was  rendered  happier  in 
1879  by  the  marriage  of  Prince  Arthur  to  Princess  Louise 
Margaret  of  Prussia,  daughter  of  the  famous  soldier.  Prince 
Frederick  Charles,  who  was  known  to  his  army  as  the 
Red  Prince,  on  account  of  the  scarlet  unifonn  of  the  Ziethen 
Hussars  which  he  wore.  Prince  Leopold  was  married  to 
Princess  Helen  of  Waldeck  in  1882.  He  died  two  years 
afterwards  at  Cannes,  leaving  one  daughter,  while  a  son 

303 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

was  born  after  his  death,  who  was  destined  to  succeed  to 
his  grandfather's  rank  in  the  Dukedom  of  Coburg  and 
Gotha. 

Prince  Leopold  had  delivered  addresses  in  stjde  and 
thought  recalling  the  manner  and  excellence  of  his  father's. 
Claremont  had  an  additional  sad  memory  linked  to  the 
beauty  of  the  place,  for  his  short  married  life  was  spent 
there  when  he  was  not  residing  with  the  Queen. 

The  title  that  he  took  was  one  borne  by  the  ancient  Stuarts 
and  derived  from  Alban,  an  old  name  for  Scotland  before 
Ireland  had  lost  its  early  name  of  Scotia,  through  the 
coming  of  the  Scots  to  Argyllshire,  and  is  probably  of 
Pictish  origin. 

The  famous  Regent  Albany,  the  son  of  Robert  III.,  made 
it  well  known  during  the  eighteen  years  that  James  I. 
of  Scotland  was  kept  an  honored  captive  at  the  Court  of 
Henry  IV.  and  V.  It  received  tragic  associations  through 
the  death  of  the  Regent  and  his  son,  and  had  been  last  used 
to  designate  the  wife  of  the  last  of  the  Stuart  line  who  died 
at  Rome. 

The  Queen  loved  to  recall  her  Scottish  ancestry,  and 
hked  to  revive  this  ancient  name.  It  used  to  be  said  of  her 
Majesty  that  she  herself  was  the  last  of  the  Jacobites,  and 
she  would  welcome  anything  which  was  written  in  favor 
of  the  most  unfortunate  of  all  the  long  line  of  her  Stuart 
"  forbears  " — Mary,  the  victim  of  the  jealousy  of  her  cousin 
Elizabeth  and  of  the  fears  of  Cecil. 

The  opening  of  the  law  courts  in  the  Strand,  in  December, 
1882,  gave  a  welcome  holiday  to  London.  Westminster 
Hall  was  no  longer  to  be  the  place  where  lawyers  could  walk 
up  and  down  and  discuss  the  details  of  their  briefs.  The 
small  and  somewhat  inconvenient  courts  which  used  to  be 
entered  from  that  hall  were  swept  away  to  give  place  to 
offices,  rooms,  and  other  chambers,  for  the  benefit  of  those 
associated  with  Parliament.  Wider  range,  greater  space, 
and  more  numerous  rooms  were  to  be  given  to  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  law.  It  was  felt  that  it  was  a  pity  the 
necessity  of  architecture  could  not  reproduce  some  vast 

304 


THE   SEVENTIES   TO    THE    EIGHTIES 

chamber  like  that  which  was  to  be  deserted,  and  that  the 
space  reserved  for  waiting  and  private  discussion  in  the 
new  courts  was  not  upon  the  same  level  as  the  chambers 
occupied  by  the  judges — an  advantage  which  the  courts  at 
Edinburgh  and  Dublin  both  enjoy. 

As  early  as  ten  o'clock  the  judges,  who  had  already 
breakfasted  in  the  Peers'  dining-room  with  the  Lord  Chan- 
cellor, were  to  pass  through  Westminster  Hall  for  the  last 
time.  They  came,  headed  by  the  Lord  Chancellor  in  black 
and  gold,  the  Chief  Justice  in  scarlet  and  ermine,  the  Master 
of  the  Rolls,  and  then  all  the  other  judges  in  pairs,  the  At- 
torne5'-General  and  Solicitor-General,  prepared  to  fight  a 
rear-guard  action,  closing  the  procession,  and  so  by  carriage 
to  the  Strand. 

The  cheers  of  the  multitude  and  the  appearance  of  the 
Life  Guards  in  the  open  space  in  front  heralded  the  ap- 
proach of  the  Queen  with  her  two  daughters.  The  princes 
wore  their  Bencher's  gowns  over  their  uniforms.  The 
Queen  was  led  to  her  chair  of  State,  and  she  delivered  a 
short  address  after  giving  the  key,  which  had  been  pre- 
sented to  Lord  Selborne,  who  received  it  kneeling.  Then 
came  a  prayer  from  the  Archbishop  of  York,  and  a  previous 
Archbishop's  grandson,  in  the  person  of  Sir  William  Har- 
court,  announced  that  he  had  her  Majesty's  permission 
to  declare  the  building  open.  The  Attorney-General  next 
came  before  the  Queen,  and  asked,  in  the  name  of  the  Bar 
of  England,  that  the  day's  proceedings  should  be  entered 
on  the  records  of  the  Supreme  Court.  The  Lord  Chancellor 
answered  that  the  thing  should  be  done  as  prayed.  The 
Prince  of  Wales  presented  the  next  address  on  behalf  of  the 
four  Inns  of  Court,  and  another  was  tendered  by  the  In- 
corporated Law  Society,  after  which  the  first  assembly  with- 
in the  walls  of  the  new  courts,  in  which  no  argument  was 
offered,  and  no  cause  was  pleaded,  and  no  contention  occur- 
red, was  over.  Mr.  Street,  to  whom  the  design  of  the  great 
pile  was  due,  the  builders,  their  workmen,  and  others,  had 
their  turn  to  salute  the  Queen  outside  before  her  carriage 
again  rolled  away,  accompanied  by  its  mounted  escorts. 

305 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

At  Berlin,  the  silver  wedding  was  celebrated  on  January 
25,  1883,  of  the  Queen's  eldest  daughter,  who  was  now 
the  Princess  Imperial  of  Germany,  and  it  was  quoted  of  her 
at  the  time  that  Moltke  had  said  she  had  shown  that  she 
could  love  both  countries  and  be  true  to  both  mother  and 
husband.  There  was  a  medal  struck  in  honor  of  the  com- 
memoration, with  a  jewel  pendant,  which  was  given  to  their 
relatives  by  the  Prince  and  Princess,  and  which  had  the 
emblems  of  the  German  Empire — the  eagle  and  the  crown, 
as  well  as  the  red  and  white  rose,  with  the  thistle  and 
shamrock  interwined. 

The  Queen  was  able  to  hold  a  Drawing-room  and  open 
the  International  Fisheries  Exhibition  in  May  at  South 
Kensington,  where  much  interest  was  shown  in  the  com- 
paratively new  industry  of  artificial  fish-breeding.  This 
art  has  been  largely  patronized  by  the  United  States  gov- 
ernment, for  they  have  found  in  America  that  a  too  indis- 
criminate fishing  can  completely  ruin  the  salmon  fisheries, 
thus  justifying  the  ancient  practice  in  this  country  of  con- 
ferring such  rights  only  by  royal  charter,  whereby  it  often 
happens  that  the  owner  of  the  bank  himself  may  have  no 
right  whatever  to  kill  the  salmon  in  the  stream.  This 
right  has  always  been  jealously  preserved  with  a  view  to 
keeping  up  a  constant  supply,  and  to  allow  the  fish  to  as- 
cend the  rivers  freely  and  without  molestation,  in  order 
that  they  may  reach  their  spawning-beds. 

To  such  an  extent  has  it  been  found  necessary  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Atlantic  to  retrace  the  too  generous  steps 
taken  by  a  government  depending  entirely  upon  the  votes 
of  the  unscientific,  that  even  on  the  sea-banks  vast  numbers 
of  eggs,  artificially  hatched,  are  poured  forth  in  the  hope  of 
teaching  the  young  idea  of  the  fish  to  come  back  to  the 
haunts  where  they  first  tasted  the  delights  of  freedom  in 
the  water. 

Canada,  owing  to  the  more  careful  preservation  of  her 
rivers,  obtains  from  the  sale  of  fish  and  other  licenses  for 
rod-fishing  a  far  greater  profit  than  is  obtained  by  her 
Southern  neighbor.     All  this,  and  manj'-  other  lessons, 

306 


THE    SEVENTIES   TO   THE    EIGHTIES 

this  exhibition  brought  to  men's  minds,  while  their  eyes 
were  gladdened  by  the  sight  of  marvellous  casts  painted 
to  the  life  by  the  brush  of  Mr.  Frank  Buckland. 

The  Queen  resolved  in  this  year  also  to  institute  an  order 
to  reward  one  of  the  noblest  professions  among  us — namely, 
that  of  the  women  nurses.  The  new  order  has  as  its  in- 
signia a  cross  shaped  something  like  that  bestowed  for 
valor,  but  with  the  sovereign's  head  in  a  medallion  in  the 
centre.  This  was  intended  as  a  mark  by  which  those  who 
distinguish  themselves  might  be  known. 

Sir  Arthur  Sullivan,  whom  we  so  lately  lost,  and  who 
has  been  more  successful  than  any  British  musician  of  his 
time,  received  the  honor  of  knighthood  at  the  end  of  May. 
He  has  been  among  those  who  have  helped  to  have  musical 
dramas  or  operas  sung  in  English.  His  work  "  Ivanhoe  " 
was  successful,  but  repeated  too  often,  serious  plays  or 
operas  being  less  attractive  during  a  succession  of  rep- 
resentations than  comic  opera.  In  comic  opera  he,  with 
Gilbert  as  librettist,  easily  excelled  all  others.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  the  British  public  could  have  and  ought  to  have 
English  opera  given  as  well  and  as  cheaply  as  German  or 
French  opera  is  given  to  all  in  Germany  and  France. 

Another  anniversary  was  celebrated  in  1883  with  great 
acclaim  at  Birmingham — namely,  Mr.  Bright 's  jubilee. 
That  most  eloquent  man — the  best  speaker  of  his  day — 
was  for  a  short  time  brought  into  the  harness  of  the  State  as 
a  Minister.  The  tempestuous  character  of  his  oratory  was 
mellowed  as  his  views  were  widened,  and  age  brought  a 
more  comprehensive  knowledge  of  men  and  things.  His 
health  was  already  not  what  his  friends  would  have  wished. 
Fits  of  giddiness  occasionally  attacked  him,  and  he  was 
not  able  to  devote  to  the  arduous  and  long-continued  drudg- 
ery of  office  the  constant  attention  or  the  patience  required. 

His  name  will  always  live,  with  that  of  his  friend  Cobden, 
as  the  potent  advocate  of  free-trade,  and  of  many  a  measure 
designed  to  benefit  his  fellow-  countrymen.  Of  a  most 
kindly  disposition  and  excellent  heart,  his  mind  was  always 
receptive  not  only  to  public  but  to  private  claims  upon  his 

307 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER   LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

sympathy  and  generosity.  He  was  certainly  the  greatest 
among  those  who  call  themselves  the  Society  of  Friends, 
some  of  whom  were,  like  himself,  eager  enough  to  crush  an 
individual  opponent  by  word  of  mouth,  although  they 
always  shrank  from  the  use  of  the  armed  embodiment  of 
right  when  arrayed  in  fleet  and  army. 

The  Queen  always  took  the  greatest  interest  in  the  ques- 
tion of  the  housing  of  the  working-classes,  and  her  interest 
was  equally  shared  by  the  Prince  of  Wales.  The  Prince 
was  a  member  of  the  important  commission  on  this  ques- 
tion before  whom,  in  1884,  Lord  Shaftesbury  was  sum- 
moned as  a  witness,  as  well  as  Mr.  G.  R.  Sims,  Mr,  Shaw 
Lefevre,  and  a  number  of  other  gentlemen. 

Already  in  many  provincial  towns,  as  well  as  in  London, 
a  good  deal  has  been  done  in  the  erection  of  model  lodging- 
houses.  In  Glasgow,  for  instance,  where  cheap  eating- 
houses  were  long  ago  introduced  under  the  guidance  of 
Mr.  Corbett,  it  is  possible  to  have  meals  at  extremely  low 
prices.  Large  blocks  of  buildingvS — having  on  the  lower 
story  dining-rooms,  bath-rooms,  and  kitchens,  and  on  the 
upper  floors  hundreds  of  cabins  each  containing  a  bed — 
have  been  provided  by  that  enterprising  municipality,  who 
seem  to  be  able  to  do  everything  except  to  keep  their  river 
clean. 

Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  success  attained  in  recent 
years  in  regard  to  the  housing  question  has  been  through 
the  erection  of  lodging-houses  inLondon  on  the  plan  adopted 
by  Lord  Rowton,  better  known  as  Mr.  Montagu  Corry,  who 
was  for  so  long  secretary  to  Lord  Beaconsfield.  These 
buildings,  erected  in  several  parts  of  the  metropolis,  have 
secured  homes  at  a  marvellously  cheap  rate,  where  health, 
cleanliness,  and  good  nourishment  can  all  be  obtained  at 
the  same  time.  These  mstitutions,  being  conducted  on  a 
business  footing,  give  a  very  good  return  to  those  who  have 
seen  fit  to  invest  in  them.  The  dwellings,  however,  are 
only  for  single  men,  and  it  may  be  hoped  that  a  similar 
principle  will  be  found  equally  successful  for  those  rejoicing 
in  family  life. 

308 


THE   SEVENTIES   TO   THE    EIGHTIES 

King  Theebaw,  of  Burmah,  declared  war  against  England\ 
in  1885.  lie  was  an  amiable  ixttentate,  who  was  in  the\ 
habit  of  making  a  solemn  sacrifice  of  a  considerable  number 
of  his  relatives,  and  had  little  idea  of  keeping  to  any  other 
obligation.  One  of  the  causes  which  produced  a  quarrel 
was  his  prevention  of  a  company  acting  on  their  rights,  as 
secured  by  agreement  with  him,  from  taking  teak  timber 
from  certain  forests  which  had  been  given  to  them  for  the 
purpose.  These  trees,  so  valuable  for  all  kinds  of  purposes, 
and  much  used  in  the  construction  of  decks  in  ships,  as 
well  as  for  almost  everything  where  durability  of  wood 
is  wanted,  have  a  habit  of  growing  singly,  and  are  not 
usually  found  in  great  groves  together.  It  is,  therefore, 
necessary  to  have  a  very  considerable  area  in  which  to 
search  for  them,  and  accusations  w^ere  made  that  the  limits 
had  been  exceeded  in  which  it  was  permitted  to  seek  for  them. 
It  was,  however,  an  arbitrary  denial  on  the  part  of  the  King 
of  agreements  entered  into — part  of  the  caprice  which 
was  a  leading  feature  in  his  character. 

King  Theebaw's  troops  fought  rather  better  than  they 
were  expected  to  do,  and  the  resistance,  especially  to  the 
north  in  the  thick  jungles,  lasted  for  a  considerable  period. 
The  annexation  of  the  whole  country  to  Great  Britain 
followed,  and  the  Governor-General  of  India,  Lord  Dufferin, 
who  had  insisted  upon  the  necessity  of  the  step,  took,  as  an 
addition  to  his  title,  the  name  of  "  Ava,"  which  was  one  of 
the  ancient  names  of  the  newly  annexed  realm.  Since 
Theebaw's  reign  was  brought  to  a  conclusion  the  whole 
country  has  steadily  advanced,  and  peace  has  been  pre- 
served, while  the  old  King's  family  have  lived  without 
any  of  the  sudden  calamities  being  brought  upon  them  that 
were  formerly  coincident  with  the  bad  temper  of  the  august 
head  of  that  domestic  circle. 

The  security  of  the  Canadian  Northwest  was  assured 
in  the  same  season.  There  the  same  man  whom  Sir  Garnet 
Wolseley  had  driven  across  the  frontier  in  1871 — a  man 
named  Riel — had  returned  to  the  banks  of  the  great  Sas- 
katchewan River,  w^ith  a  view  of  fomenting  disaffection 

309 


VICTORIA  R.  I.   HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

among  the  French  and  Indian  half-caste  people,  who  had 
begun  to  object  to  everything  which  the  Canadian  gov- 
ernment did  with  a  view  to  the  introduction  of  more  white 
settlers.  Kiel  was  joined  by  a  good  many  of  the  Indians 
who,  under  the  bad  advice  of  their  half-white  friends,  were 
,in  danger  of  losing  the  advantages  which  had  been  secured 
to  them  by  the  very  liberal  treatment  accorded  them  by  the 
Canadian  government.  It  was  natural  that  they  should 
be  disconcerted  when  they  realized  that  they  had  to  be  on 
their  good  behavior,  that  the  ancient  hunting-days  were 
over,  and  that  they  could  no  longer  war  or  follow  the  chase 
just  as  they  pleased. 

Upon  the  buffalo  their  ancestors  and  they  had  depended 
for  generations,  for  that  animal  gave  them  their  meat,  which 
they  dried  for  use  in  winter ;  it  gave  them  their  thread,  for 
they  used  buffalo  sinews  in  place  of  string  or  thread ;  it  gave 
them  their  clothing,  for  the  hide  was  the  best  protection 
against  the  weather.  It  gave  them  also  the  cover  for  their 
tepees,  or  tents.  These  were  always  erected  on  the  prairie 
by  means  of  poles  tied  together  at  the  height  of  ten  or  twelve 
feet,  and  covered  with  the  skins  of  buffaloes,  from  which 
the  hair  had  been  taken,  and  which  were  painted  with 
figures  of  warriors,  horses,  and  other  animals.  A  little 
fire  in  the  centre  warmed  the  whole  "  dwelling,"  which  had 
an  opening  in  the  skins  above  for  the  egress  of  the  smoke. 
Around  the  circumference  of  the  interior  were  little  par- 
titions, like  miniature  boxes  in  a  stable,  constructed  with 
enlaced  thongs. 

The  other  robes,  as  the  Indians  call  skins,  were  placed 
upon  the  ground,  and  each  member  of  the  family  had  a 
separate  sleeping-place  for  himself  or  herself,  while  a  recess, 
also  constructed  of  skins,  opposite  the  entrance,  over  which 
another  skin  hung,  was  a  treasure  chest,  where  the  finest 
embroidery,  saddles,  and  robes  were  deposited. 

The  handles  of  their  war  clubs  were  made  of  buffalo 
hide,  this  being  exceedingly  strong  and  elastic,  so  that 
the  blow  dealt  by  the  egg-shaped  stones  inserted  at  the  end 
of  the  stick,  and  fastened  to  it  by  a  thong,  was  a  blow 

310 


THE   SEVENTIES   TO   THE    EIGHTIES 

which  could  be  given  with  tremendous  force.  And  to  the 
end  of  this  "shaganappy"  staff,  as  it  is  called,  would  be 
fixed,  also  by  a  piece  of  buffalo  sinew,  a  scalp  or  two  taken 
in  battle  from  the  dead,  together  with  one  or  two  feathers 
denoting  the  number  of  scalps. 

You  will,  therefore,  see  that  weapon,  house,  clothing, 
thread,  and  shoes,  all  being  from  the  produce  of  one  animal, 
made  it  seem  to  the  poor  Indian  almost  a  necessity  of  life 
that  the  unlimited  hunting  of  this  creature  should  still  be 
allowed.  But  the  red  man  could  no  longer  be  the  only  hunt- 
er. The  white  man's  rifle,  as  well  as  the  improvidence  of 
the  Indians  in  killing  the  cows,  was  gradually  making  a 
herd  of  buffalo  a  most  uncommon  sight.  Where  the  plains 
used  to  be  so  full  of  them  that  almost  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach  there  was  a  moving  mass  of  shaggy,  brown,  humi> 
backed  bison,  a  few  years  had  caused  so  great  a  change 
that  little  but  their  whitened  bones,  their  skulls  with  the 
short,  curved,  black  horns,  were  left  to  show  where  myri- 
ads had  sought  their  food,  wandering  north  as  the  spring 
brought  the  succulent  pasture  to  the  prairie,  and  south 
again  when  the  earlj^  winter  snows  began  to  whistle  through 
the  November  air. 

The  Canadian  and  United  States  governments  had  both 
met  the  Indians'  wants  by  providing  them  w4th  rations; 
but  a  pannikin  of  flour  was  considered  but  a  poor  substitute 
for  the  smoking  steak  which  they  loved.  Riel,  returning 
from  the  States,  added  fuel  to  the  fire  of  apprehension,  in- 
dignation, and  ignorance,  and  the  whole  country  to  the 
north  of  Brandon  became  unsettled.  This  trouble,  like 
others,  led  to  good.  The  Canadian  volunteers  gathered 
together  from  the  different  provinces,  and  although  the 
railway  at  that  time  had  many  breaks  in  the  line  to  the 
north  of  Lake  Superior,  the  volunteers,  conquering  all 
obstacles,  made  long  marches  in  difficult  weather  when 
the  snows  were  melting,  and  finally'-  appeared,  though  in 
too  small  a  force,  in  front  of  the  intrenchments  thrown 
up  by  the  "Metis,"  as  the  mixed  race  was  called,  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Batoche,  on  the  Saskatchewan. 

311 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

The  present  Governor-General,  Lord  Minto,  was  one  of 
those  who  accompanied  General  Middleton.  He  was  on 
the  staff  of  that  commander,  and  was  nearly  shot  on  two 
or  three  occasions  by  Gabriel  Dumont,  a  noted  sharp-shooter 
among  the  insurgents.  These  occupied  a  copse-covered 
country,  and  had  perpared  excellent  trenches  with  head 
cover.  A  long  line  of  communication  which  the  Canadian 
government  forces  had  to  guard  had  reduced  their  actual 
fighting  force  at  the  front  to  a  number  about  equal  to  that 
of  their  intrenched  enemy.  On  the  third  day  after  the 
volunteers  had  appeared  before  the  intrenchments,  the 
Toronto  regiment  "  took  the  bull  by  the  horns,"  and  charg- 
ing down,  was  joined  by  the  other  scanty  battalions  present. 
The  trenches  were  taken  and  peace  was  secured  to  the 
Northwest  by  this  charge,  and  by  another  action  which 
took  place  farther  west  in  the  neighborhood  of  Fort  Carlton, 
where  a  Gatling  detachment,  under  a  very  gallant  officer. 
Captain  Short,  of  the  Royal  Canadian  Artillery,  had  a 
hand-to-hand  fight.  Short's  cap  being  taken  off  his  head 
by  a  rifle  bullet. 

Nor  must  we  forget,  still  farther  west,  another  band  of 
Indians  under  a  chief  called  Big  Bear.  These  were  fought 
and  scattered  under  the  leadership  of  General  Strange  and 
Colonel  Steele.  The  latter,  wearing  a  red  jacket,  in  the  days 
when  khaki  had  not  become  compulsory,  distinguished 
himself,  as  he  had  several  times  before,  in  a  personal  strug- 
gle in  which  he  came  off  the  victor.  The  popularity  of  the 
militia  force  was  conspicuously  shown  by  the  reception  in 
each  province  of  the  returning  troops,  and  from  that  time 
there  has  been  no  reason  to  fear  for  the  security  of  any 
settler,  however  isolated,  throughout  the  whole  of  the 
prairie  country  of  British  North  America.  Riel  expiated 
his  crime  on  the  scaffold  at  the  town  of  Regina  not  long 
afterwards. 

Literature  lost  one  of  its  most  shining  lights  in  1885 
through  the  death  of  Victor  Hugo,  who  had  for  a  long  time 
chosen  to  live  in  one  of  her  Majesty's  possessions,  the 
Channel  Islands,  whence  he  derived  his  inspirations  for 

312 


THE    SEVENTIES   TO    THE    EIGHTIES 

one  of  his  remarkable  works  called  The  Toilers  of  the 
Sea. 

The  Queen  went  to  the  Isle  of  Wight  to  prepare  for  the 
wedding  of  Princess  Beatrice,  which  took  place  in  July 
of  1885.  On  the  lawn  in  front  of  Osborne  House,  she 
inspected  the  members  of  the  corps  which  had  been  mounted 
on  camels  during  the  Soudan  campaign.  There  were  near- 
ly six  hundred  men,  who  arrived  off  Cowes  in  the  transport 
Australia,  all  looking  much  rejoiced  to  leave  the  torrid 
heat  of  Alexandria  and  see  again  the  green  fields  of  Old 
England.  The  evergreen  glades  of  Osborne  echoed  to 
music  as  the  men  marched  up  and  took  their  place  in  line. 
The  Queen  left  her  carriage,  walking  along  and  closely  in- 
specting all  ranks,  who  were  in  campaign  kit — the  Heavy 
Cavalry  in  khaki  and  the  Guards'  Corps  in  scarlet.  Many 
of  both  uniforms  showed  the  hard  work  of  the  campaign. 
Each  officer  was  afterwards  called  to  the  front  and  intro- 
duced to  the  Queen,  who  spoke  in  high  praise  of  their  work 
and  welcomed  them  home.  The  "  Camelry,"  as  they  were 
called,  rejoiced  in  a  new  flag,  representing  a  black  camel 
rampant  on  a  white  ground,  and  this  flag  the  troop-ship 
that  brought  them  home  had  flying  upon  her  mast. 

The  marriage  of  Princess  Beatrice  and  Prince  Henry 
of  Battenberg  took  place  at  the  pretty  little  church  of  Whip- 
pingham,  the  ceremony  being  performed  by  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury.  The  roads  leading  across  the  field  were 
lined  with  holiday-making  folks.  There  was  a  beautiful 
show  of  fireworks,  and  a  dinner  and  dance  given  by  the 
Queen  to  her  tenants  and  servants.  The  Siamese  band 
played  one  evening,  and  there  was  a  great  gathering  of 
yachts,  the  roads  at  Cowes  being  fuller  than  ever,  not 
only  with  the  fairy  fleet  of  sailers,  but  also  with  a  large 
number  of  fine  steamers.  The  tonnage  of  the  steam 
yachts  had  for  some  time  past  been  increasing,  and  it  was 
a  feature  of  the  gathering  that  one  or  two  large  vessels 
belonging  to  American  citizens  were  among  the  finest 
of  those  gathered  in  the  vSolent. 

Prince  Henry  subsequently  took  the  greatest  practical 

313 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

interest  in  yachting,  and  possessed  himself  of  an  excellent 
vessel  in  the  Sheilah,  in  which  he  made  many  expeditions 
round  the  west  coast  of  Scotland,  and  also  visited  the 
Mediterranean. 

The  Queen  drove  down  to  the  shore  with  the  Prince  and 
Princess  to  see  the  procession  of  yachts  of  the  Royal  Yacht 
Squadron,  the  final  parade  of  the  "white  wings,"  which 
always  scatter  in  August,  carrying  their  owners  to  other 
places  around  our  shores,  as  well  as  to  many  a  more  distant 
harbor.  While  it  has  been  often  observed  of  late  that 
the  number  of  British  seamen  in  our  mercantile  marine  is 
steadily  decreasing,  it  is  pleasant  to  think  that  this  holiday 
fleet  is  manned  almost  entirely  by  those  of  British  birth. 

The  war  between  Servia  and  Bulgaria  brought  to  the 
notice  of  Europe  the  soldier-life  and  noble  qualities  of 
Prince  Henry  of  Battenberg's  elder  brother.  Prince  Alex- 
ander, who,  placed  in  that  most  difficult  position  in  Europe, 
the  Princedom  of  Bulgaria,  with  great  ability  and  energy 
organized  the  Bulgarian  army,  so  that  when  the  Servian 
invasion  of  the  country  took  place,  it  was  able  to  rapidly 
mobilize  in  the  most  inclement  season  of  the  year,  and 
be  placed  at  Slevnitza  in  a  position  which  commanded  the 
approaches  to  Sofia. 

A  battle  ensued,  which  was  truly  a  soldiers'  battle,  and 
the  good  shooting,  discipline,  and  endurance  of  the  Bul- 
garians were  proved  by  the  complete  overthrow  of  the 
Servian  invaders.  The  victory  ought  to  have  guaranteed 
Prince  Alexander  against  the  machinations  of  conspirators. 
That  it  did  not  do  so  is  a  matter  of  history,  and  the  capture 
of  the  Prince  by  a  section  of  the  very  officers  he  commanded, 
and  his  deposition,  was  an  incident  which  did  not  tend  to 
encourage  confidence  in  the  stability  of  the  new  State,  which 
was  the  creation  of  those  who  hoped  that  the  fine  and  varied 
territory  it  possesses  would  be  distinguished  b37'  the  practice 
of  laws  insuring  toleration  and  a  reasonable  use  of  the  in- 
stitutions of  representative  government.  One  may  still, 
however,  venture  to  hope  that  the  State  has  a  great  future 
before  it. 

314 


CHAPTER  X 

THE    JUBILEE    AND  AFTER 

The  Queen's  life  was  made  brighter  by  the  residence  of 
the  young  married  couple  under  her  roof,  and  the  following 
years  were  very  busy  ones  with  her,  for  she  appeared  a 
good  deal  more  in  public. 

In  the  amusement  of  children  she  always  delighted, 
and  on  the  third  birthday  of  the  Duke  of  Albany's  little 
girl,  Hengler's  Circus  was  allowed  to  give  an  exhibition 
in  the  Riding  School  at  Windsor  Castle,  a  kind  of  enter- 
taimnent  which  the  Queen  had  never  attended  since  the 
hour  of  her  great  sorrow.  But  now  a  large  party  of  young 
and  old  walked  down  from  the  Castle  and  sat  looking  for  an 
hour  and  a  half  at  the  performing  horses  and  everything 
that  the  enterprising  proprietor  could  show — a  reminder  of 
the  now  long-past  days  when  Astley's  used  to  entertain 
everybody  of  all  ages,  and  when  Russian  wars  were  rep- 
resented in  a  sixty-feet  circle,  and  British  prisoners  were 
offered,  for  their  sole  food  and  sustenance,  by  Russian 
jailers,  a  half-dozen  Lambeth  farthing  tallow  candles. 

For  music  the  Queen  always  had  the  greatest  love,  and 
Gounod's  fine  comj^osition,  "Death  and  Life,"  was  per- 
formed before  her  at  the  Albert  Hall,  The  ladies  of  the 
Royal  Albert  Hall  Choral  Society  presented  her  with  flow- 
ers, there  was  an  immense  audience,  and  when  the  ora- 
torio was  concluded,  Mr.  Barnby,  the  conductor,  and  the 
principal  singers  were  presented  to  the  Queen,  receiving 
her  thanks  for  the  performance,  which  she  said  had  given 
her  the  greatest  pleasure. 

Close  to  the  same  spot  she  performed,  in  May,  1886,  the 
ceremony  of  the  inauguration  of  the  Indian  and  Colonial 

315 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

Exhibition — a  signal  mark  of  the  times,  when  the  over- 
flowing wealth  of  the  Empire,  which  during  her  lifetime 
had  expanded  as  had  none  other  before  in  the  world's 
historj^  was  shown  by  those  things  which  its  many 
rulers  considered  the  best  proofs  of  their  success. 

It  was  in  her  name  that  the  governors,  and  councils, 
and  Parliament,  and  assemblies,  and  princes,  am'  chiefs 
scattered  over  the  whole  world,  exercised  their  doaiinion, 
and  it  was  under  her  title  as  Queen,  or  as  Empress,  that 
four  hundred  millions  of  human  beings  called  themselves 
the  citizens  of  her  unparalleled  Empire.  From  all  these 
had  been  sent  to  London  a  representation,  not  of  their 
armed  power,  but  of  that  for  which  armament  exists — name- 
ly, the  wealth  and  produce  of  their  varied  continents  and 
islands. 

There  was  an  entrance  hall  called  the  Colonial  Hall, 
where  a  guard  of  honor  awaited  the  Queen,  and  the  Prince 
of  Wales,  as  president  of  the  exhibition,  received  her,  pre- 
senting all  the  commissioners  from  the  Colonies.  With 
heralds  and  State  officials  in  front  of  her  she  walked,  with 
the  Prince  of  Wales  on  her  right  and  the  Duke  of  Connaught 
on  her  left,  and  the  Princess  of  Wales  and  other  princes 
and  princesses  behind  her,  from  the  Colonial  Hall  through 
the  Indian  galleries,  resplendent  with  Indian  fabrics,  and 
made  stately  by  imitations  of  Eastern  architecture,  to  a 
section  representing  Old  London  and  an  Old  London  street. 
Thence  through  the  Indian  palace,  and  the  other  varied 
display,  until  the  main  hall  was  reached,  where  a  chair  of 
State  was  placed  for  her.  The  national  anthem  was 
sung,  one  verse  being  in  Sanskrit,  and  an  ode  by  Temiyson 
to  Sullivan's  music  followed. 

Then  the  Queen  rose  and  said,  in  answer  to  the  Prince's 
address : 

"  I  receive  with  the  greatest  satisfaction  the  address  you 
have  presented  to  me  on  the  opening  of  this  exhibition. 
I  have  observed,  with  a  warm  and  increasing  interest,  the 
progress  of  your  proceedings  in  the  execution  of  the  duties 
intrusted  to  j^ou  by  the  Royal  Commission,  and  it  affords 

316 


THE   AUTHORIZED    DIAMOND    JUBILEE    I'HOTOGRAl'H    OF   THE   QUEEN 


THE   JUBILEE   AND   AFTER 

me  sincere  gratification  to  witness  the  successful  results 
of  your  judicious  and  unremitting  exertions  in  the  magnif- 
icent exhibition  which  has  been  gathered  together  here  to- 
day. 

"I  am  deeply  moved  by  your  reference  to  the  circum- 
stance, in  which  the  ceremony  of  1851  took  place,  and  I 
heartily  concur  in  the  belief  j^ou  have  expressed  that  the 
Prince  Consort,  my  beloved  husband,  had  he  been  spared, 
would  have  witnessed  with  intense  interest  the  develop- 
ment of  his  idea,  and  would,  I  may  add,  have  seen  with 
pleasure  our  son  taking  the  lead  in  a  movement  of  which 
he  was  the  originator. 

"  I  cordially  concur  with  you  in  the  prayer  that  this  under- 
taking may  be  the  means  of  imparting  a  stimulus  to  the 
commercial  interest  and  intercourse  of  all  parts  of  my 
dominions,  by  encouraging  the  arts  of  peace  and  industry, 
and  by  strengthening  the  bonds  of  union  which  now  exist 
in  every  portion  of  mj^  Empire." 

The  Queen  then  received  the  key  from  the  Prince.  The 
Lord  Chamberlain,  by  her  desire,  declared  the  exhibition 
to  be  opened.  A  flourish  of  trumpets  and  a  royal  salute 
proclaimed  the  same  to  the  people.  The  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  offered  prayer ;  Madame  Albani  sang  "  Home, 
Sweet  Home,"  and  then  "Rule,  Britannia"  ended  the 
day's  proceedings,  the  Queen  retiring  with  the  Prince. 

The  Queen  w-ent  to  Liverpool  at  the  desire  of  its  citizens 
to  help  a  local  exhibition,  w^hich  did  not,  however,  prove 
so  great  a  success  as  was  hoped,  the  truth  being  that  the 
great  town  upon  the  Mersey  had  so  many  other  attractions 
that  it  was  difficult  to  concentrate  the  attention  of  the  public 
upon  its  great  show,  except  upon  the  day  when  the  Queen's 
visit  brought  vast  crowds  to  the  site,  too  far  removed  from 
the  central  district  of  the  city. 

Edinburgh  shared  the  same  fate  in  regard  to  the  success 
of  its  "Fair."  Where  people  can  have  beautiful  views, 
such  as  those  from  the  Castle  at  Edinburgh  and  from 
Arthur's  Seat,  and  make  excursions  to  the  Firth  of  Forth, 
to  Linlithgow  and  Stirling,  and  other  places  of  romantic 

317 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

beauty  or  historic  interest,  they  will  not  care,  unless  special- 
ly interested  in  some  commercial  sample,  to  spend  a  day 
among  passages  filled  with  merchandise,  however  well  de- 
signed or  cunningly  wrought  they  may  be. 

Birmingham  also  claimed  the  Queen's  presence  to  lay 
the  foundation  stone  of  the  new  Victoria  courts  of  justice 
early  in  1887.  Not  less  than  two  and  a  half  miles  of 
stands  are  said  to  have  been  erected  along  the  route,  and 
were  filled  with  people  who  assembled  on  that  boisterous 
day  in  March  to  see  her  drive  as  usual  in  an  open  car- 
riage, despite  wind  and  weather.  In  the  High  Street 
splendid  triumphal  arches  were  erected.  At  a  place  called 
the  Bull  Ring  an  enormous  number  of  the  town  and 
neighborhood  collected,  and  again  in  Council  House 
Square,  which  was  one  dense  mass  of  humanity.  The 
Queen  entered  the  Town  Hall,  where  the  Corporation  had 
invited  over  two  hundred  persons,  and  the  Recorder  read 
an  address  as  she  stood  on  the  dais.  She  expressed,  in 
reply,  the  pleasure  her  new  acquaintance  with  Bimiing- 
ham  gave  her,  and  referred  to  the  fact  that  it  was  twenty- 
nine  years  since  the  last  time  she  had  been  in  the  town, 
and  then  it  was  with  the  Prince  Consort. 

After  speaking  with  Mrs.  Chamberlain,  the  procession 
passed  to  Colmore  Row,  where  the  metal-workers'  arch 
was  erected.  It  looked  imposing  and  solid  enough  to  vie 
with  the  arch  of  Titus,  for  the  piers  and  arches  were  com- 
posed of  twenty  tons  of  brass,  copper,  and  iron  tubes.  A 
portrait  of  the  Queen  was  in  a  shield,  which  bore  the  arms 
of  Birmingham,  all  the  patterns  being  made  with  steel 
pens.  At  King  Edward's  School,  in  New  Street,  a  halt 
was  made,  the  two  thousand  children  having,  as  it  were, 
an  audience  of  the  Queen  all  to  themselves. 

The  law  courts  were  guarded  by  tremendous  trophies  of 
swords  and  guns  and  bayonets ;  and  when  the  stone  had 
been  laid,  and  the  architects  presented,  the  Queen's  work 
was  over  for  the  day,  and,  much  pleased  with  her  hearty 
reception,  she  returned  to  Windsor  to  prepare  for  a  brief 
holiday  at  Cannes,  where  she  occupied  a  villa  called  after 

318 


THE   JUBILEE   AND    AFTER 

the  lovely  Alpine  flower  Edelweiss,  and  had  a  time  of  rest 
which  she  much  enjoyed. 

Aix-les-Bains  was  also  visited,  this  being  the  first  time 
the  Queen  had  seen  this  beautiful  health  resort,  which 
she  afterwards  liked  so  much  that  at  one  time  she  thought 
of  purchasing  a  villa  here.  The  roads  in  every  direction 
along  the  shores  of  Lake  Bourget  are  excellent.  The  in- 
terest of  the  district  bears  memories  from  the  days  when 
the  Romans  found  out  the  healing  virtues  of  its  waters 
to  the  present  time.  Within  a  two  hours'  drive  is  Chamb^rj^ 
the  headquarters  of  the  French  Alpine  Corps,  who,  in  blue 
serge,  with  blue  bonnets  on  their  heads,  and  with  mule- 
borne  mountain  guns,  show  themselves  indeed  a  most 
admirably  equipped  force;  while  a  very  different  aspect  of 
life  is  presented  by  the  monks  of  the  Great  Chartreuse. 
All  these  places  afford  a  variety  and  an  interest,  as  well 
as  a  complete  change  of  scene,  which  are  most  refreshing. 

Nothing  could  exceed  the  courtesy  show^n  at  all  times 
by  the  French,  from  the  President  downward  through 
all  ranks,  to  the  Queen  whenever  she  visited  France.  Most 
charming  and  accomplished  officers  were  always  selected 
for  the  command  of  the  troops  forming  the  guards  of  honor 
or  in  attendance  upon  her  Majesty  at  Aix-les-Bains.  It 
was  remarkable  on  one  occasion  that  both  the  officers  com- 
manding her  personal  escort  and  the  officer  commanding 
the  division  of  troops  in  the  neighborhood  were  descendants 
of  men  who  had  emigrated  in  bygone  centuries  from  the 
north  of  Ireland,  bearing  the  names  of  Niel  and  O'Neil. 

The  burial-place  of  the  old  Dukes  of  Savoy,  a  roj'^al 
house  with  which  our  own  was  connected,  is  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  lake,  where  many  a  splendid  monument  in 
marble  has  been  restored  from  the  ruin  wrought  by  the 
troops  of  the  French  Revolution. 

Now  was  to  commence  the  frequent  acknowledgment 
of  expressions  of  loyalty  felt  for  the  Queen  at  the  attain- 
ment of  her  Jubilee.  The  delegates  to  a  colonial  con- 
ference, who  had  been  speaking  with  one  another  on  ques- 
tions of  cormnon  interest,  conmienced  by  presenting  an 

319 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

address  at  Windsor,  telling  her  how  her  colonial  subjects 
of  European  descent  had  increased  during  her  time  from 
two  millions  to  nine  millions ;  how  those  of  Asia  and  India 
had  increased  from  ninety-six  millions  to  two  hundred  and 
fifty-four  millions,  and  of  other  people  in  the  Colonies  from 
two  millions  to  seven  millions,  there  being  seven  million 
square  miles  of  colonial  area,  and  India  having  close  upon 
fourteen  million. 

The  Lord  Mayor  and  Corporation  of  London,  as  is  their 
loyal  wont,  were  among  the  earliest  to  present  their  loy- 
al congratulations.  They  wxre  received  in  the  Throne 
Room  at  Buckingham  Palace  by  the  Queen,  with  her  Garter 
Ribbon  over  the  shoulder,  and  her  decoratiojis  on  Ihe  black 
silk  dress.  The  sword  and  mace  of  the  City  were  held 
reversed  in  her  presence.  The  company  were  told  by  her 
how  she  looked  back  with  great  satisfaction  on  the  past 
history  of  her  reign  as  she  recalled  how  much  of  its  pros- 
perity was  owing,  under  God,  to  the  sound  sense  and  good 
feeling  of  her  subjects,  and  to  the  sympathy  which  had 
united  the  throne  and  the  people. 

These  State  receptions  were  varied  by  paying  a  visit 
to  see  the  American  show  at  Earl's  Court,  where  a  famous 
frontier  scout,  Buffalo  Bill,  in  his  long  locks  and  sombrero 
hat,  gave  her  a  representation  of  the  ancient  days  of  the 
prairie  country  in  the  United  States,  when  Indians  on  horse- 
back were  still  able  to  attack  stage  coaches,  and  enterpris- 
ing emigrants  heading  over  the  prairies  for  Pike's  Peak 
had  to  ride  all  armed,  and  guard  their  wagons  by  bands 
of  horsemen,  each  with  his  rifle  in  his  hand. 

Again  not  sparing  herself,  even  on  the  eve  of  being 
obHged  to  undergo  so  much  State  fatigue,  the  Queen  drove 
to  the  East  End  of  London,  to  the  opening  of  the  People's 
Palace  in  the  Mile  End  Road.  The  East  End  greatly  dis- 
tinguished itself  in  the  heartiness  of  its  welcome ;  the  people 
stood  in  serried  ranks,  enthusiastically  glad  to  see  her. 
At  the  London  Hospital  was  the  inscription,  "  When  sick, 
ye  visited  me,"  and  "God  bless  Her  Majesty."  The  little 
people  in  the  children's  ward  crowded  the  windows  in  their 

320 


THE   JUBILEE   AND    AFTER 

flannel  gowns.  The  People's  Palace  itself  was  beautifully 
decorated  with  palms  and  flowers.  The  Queen  wore  this  \y 
time  a  bunch  of  lilac  in  her  bonnet,  and  carried  a  nosegay 
of  damask  roses.  Sir  Edmund  Currie,  who  had  done  a 
great  amount  of  work  in  the  creation  of  this  place,  the 
original  idea  of  which  came,  like  many  other  good  things, 
from  the  fertile  imagination  of  Sir  Walter  Besant,  who  had 
described  an  imaginary  palace  of  the  kind  in  his  book  All 
Sorts  and  Conditions  of  Men.  The  Queen,  after  the  hall 
had  been  formally  opened,  laid  the  first  stone  of  a  technical 
handicraft  school  to  be  part  and  parcel  of  this  most  useful 
institution. 

This  year,  too,  the  Queen  herself  received,  by  the  wish 
of  the  Society  of  Arts,  the  Albert  medal,  which  was  voted 
to  her  by  those  who  have  awarded  this  mark  of  distinction 
for  many  years  to  persons  of  especial  merit  in  promoting  arts, 
manufactures,  or  commerce,  according  to  the  desire  of  the 
Prince  Consort,  in  whose  memory  the  distribution  took 
place  a  year  after  his  death.  Great  men  famous  in  science, 
such  as  Whitworth,  Liebig,  Bessemer  and  Faraday,  Sir 
William  Thomson  (now  Lord  Kelvin),  also  Dr.  Pasteur 
and  Lord  Lister,  had  before  been  among  its  recipients. 
The  last  will  always  be  remembered  in  the  annals  of  medi- 
cine for  the  antiseptic  treatment,  and  for  the  use  of  the  anti- 
toxins which  destroy  so  many  of  the  noxious  living  atoms 
which  have  afflicted  mankind  with  various  diseases. 
Pasteur's  great  discovery,  which  has  done  much  to  rob  the 
bite  of  rabid  dogs  of  its  terrors,  has  made  Paris  a  place  of 
pilgrimage  for  those  thus  afflicted,  and  it  was  hoped  that  the 
conferring  of  the  Albert  medal  would  have  been  followed 
by  the  institution  in  England  of  places  to  which  we  could 
resort  in  cases  of  danger  from  hydrophobia,  without  having 
to  cross  the  Channel  to  undergo  the  necessary  treatment 
for  this  terrible  scourge. 

Jubilee  daj^  June  2ist,  dawned  in  unclouded  splendor. 
The  coiu^se  to  be  taken  by  the  procession  which  was  to\ 
accompany  the   Queen   to  AVestminster  Abbey  to  return  \ 
thanks  to  the  Almighty  for  the  blessings  vouchsafed  to 
X  321 


J 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

her  and  her  people  was  by  no  means  a  long  route.  It 
started  from  Buckingham  Palace,  went  up  Constitution 
Hill,  and  from  under  the  old  Wellington  arch  emerged 
upon  Piccadilly,  going  along  that  street  to  the  head  of 
St.  James's  Street,  where  it  turned  down,  and  then  on 
ward  by  Pall  Mall,  Trafalgar  Square,  and  Whitehall,  to 
the  great  western  door  of  the  Abbey.  The  crimson- 
covered  stands  were  crowded  with  gayly  dressed  people. 
There  was  a  broad  fringe  of  people  in  the  streets,  which 
were  lined  by  troops  in  full  uniform.  The  long  river  of 
color  which  preceded,  accompanied,  and  followed  the  State 
carriage  of  the  Queen  flowed  slowly  along  amid  continu- 
ous acclamations.  With  the  Crown  Princess  of  Germany 
and  the  Princess  of  Wales  in  her  carriage,  the  Queen  sat 
bowing  and  smiling,  and  so  passed  on  to  the  most  beau- 
tiful of  Gothic  abbeys,  where  she  took  her  place  upon  the 
ancient  throne  which  holds  the  mysterious  stone. 

High  up  on  every  side  the  galleries  were  crowded  with 
the  invited  guests.  A  considerable  space  separated  the 
Queen  from  the  steps  of  the  altar,  where  the  archbishops 
and  clergy,  the  first  in  purple  copes,  conducted  the  service. 
Immediately  behind  the  Queen's  throne  were  grouped  the 
men  of  her  family.  The  choir  of  three  hundred  voices 
sang  magnificently,  and  when  the  last  prayer  had  been 
said,  and  the  sound  of  the  singing  voices  had  died  away, 
each  of  her  cliildren  in  turn  went  up  to  her,  rendering 
their  homage  and  receiving  a  kiss.  And  then,  amid 
renewed  strains  on  the  organ,  she  rose,  and  the  proces- 
sion reformed  and  returned  by  the  way  it  came  to  the 
palace.  The  presents  given  to  her  seemed  almost  endless 
in  number. 

The  appearance  of  the  Prince  Imperial  of  Germany  in 
the  Jubilee  procession  was  more  like  that  of  one  of  the  legen- 
dary heroes  embodied  in  the  creations  of  Wagner  than  of  a 
soldier  of  to-day,  for  nothing  could  exceed  the  splendor  of 
his  presence  in  a  uniform  wholly  white,  and  having  on  his 
burnished  steel  helmet  the  great  silver  crest  of  an  eagle 
with  outspread  wings.     Every  one  along  the  route  admired 

322 


THE   JUBILEE   AND    AFTER 

this  beloved  Prince,  who,  alas !  at  the  next  jubilee,  ten  years 
afterwards,  had  already  passed  "beyond  these  voices." 

The  Queen's  words  of  recognition  to  her  people  were  as 
follows : 

Windsor  Castle,  June  24th. 

"  I  am  anxious  to  express  to  my  people  my  warm  thanks 
for  the  kind,  and  more  than  kind,  reception  I  met  with  on 
going  to  and  returning  from  Westminster  Abbey  with  all 
my  cliildren  and  grandchildren. 

"  The  enthusiastic  reception  I  met  with  then,  as  well  as  on 
those  eventful  days  in  London,  as  well  as  in  Windsor,  on 
the  occasion  of  my  Jubilee,  has  touched  me  most  deeply, 
and  has  shown  that  the  labors  and  anxieties  of  fifty  long 
years — twenty-two  years  of  which  I  spent  in  unclouded 
happiness,  shared  with  and  cheered  by  my  beloved  hus- 
band, while  an  equal  number  were  full  of  sorrows  and 
trials  borne  without  his  sheltering  arm  and  wise  help — 
have  been  appreciated  by  my  people.  This  feeling  and 
the  sense  of  duty  towards  my  dear  country  and  subjects, 
who  are  so  inseparably  bound  up  with  my  life,  will  en- 
courage me  in  my  task,  often  a  very  difficult  and  arduous 
one,  during  the  remainder  of  my  life. 

"The  w^onderful  order  preserved  on  this  occasion,  and 
the  good  behavior  of  the  enonnous  multitudes  assembled, 
merits  my  highest  admiration.  That  God  may  protect  and 
abundantly  bless  my  country  is  my  fervent  prayer. 

'  "Victoria,  R.  and  I." 

Twenty -three  thousand  volunteers  marched  past  the 
Queen,  as  she  sat  in  a  pavilion  erected  in  front  of  Bucking- 
ham Palace,  in  July.  Still  continuing  the  round  of  her 
public  ceremonies,  she  laid  the  first  stone  of  the  Imperial 
Institute,  saying:  "I  concur  with  you  in  thinking  that 
the  counsel  and  exertions  of  my  beloved  husband  initiated 
a  movement  which  gave  increased  vigor  to  commercial 
acti\ity,  and  produced  marked  and  lasting  improvements 
in  industrial  efforts.  One  indirect  result  of  that  movement 
has  been  to  bring  more  before  the  minds  of  men  the  vast 

323 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

and  varied  resources  of  the  Empire  over  which  Providence 
has  willed  that  I  should  reign  during  fifty  prosperous  years. 
I  believe  and  hope  that  the  Imperial  Institute  will  play  a 
useful  part  in  combining  those  resources  for  the  common 
advantage  of  all  my  subjects,  conducing  towards  the 
welding  of  the  Colonies,  India,  and  the  mother-country, 
into  one  harmonious  and  united  community." 

The  two  great  services  for  the  defence  of  the  country 
had  an  opportunity  of  paying  their  tribute.  Fifty-eight 
thousand  men  with  one  hundred  and  two  guns  were  re- 
viewed at  Aldershot,  and  a  mighty  fleet  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty-five  vessels  with  five  hundred  guns  and  twenty 
thousand  officers  and  men  saluted  their  sovereign.  The 
review  of  the  sea  forces  was  especially  magnificent,  for 
a  fresh  wind  blew  the  great  flags  at  the  masts  of  each 
vessel  squarely  out,  and  the  royal  yacht,  taking  a  posi- 
tion at  the  close  of  the  display  off  the  eastern  end  of  the 
Isle  of  Wight,  saw  the  two  great  divisions  rush  past,  the 
numbers  being  so  great  that  the  first  vessels  had  become 
mere  dark  dots  on  the  horizon  when  the  last  went  by, 
flinging  the  foam  of  the  blue  waves  from  the  sharp  and 
perpendicular  lines  of  their  bows. 

At  the  review  of  the  troops  at  Aldershot  the  Duke  of 
Cambridge,  Commander-in-Chief,  was  on  the  field,  and 
Lord  Wolseley  rode  with  him.  The  King  of  Saxony  and 
the  King  of  the  Hellenes  were  also  present.  The  Queen 
had  slept  at  the  Pavilion.  The  troops  stretched  away 
from  the  Basingstoke  Canal  to  the  slopes  of  the  hill  called 
Cfcsar's  Camp.  The  royal  salute  throughout  the  long  line 
was  given  with  magnificent  precision.  After  the  review 
the  Duke  of  Cambridge  spoke  thus  on  behalf  of  the  army : 

"Your  Majesty's  army,  including  the  reserve  forces, 
approaches  the  throne  and  offers  its  respectful  homage 
and  congratulations  upon  the  completion  of  the  fiftieth 
year  of  your  Majesty's  reign,  and  begs  your  gracious 
acceptance  of  an  offering  to  commemorate  that  happy 
event,  and  as  a  tribute  of  its  love  and  devotion. 

"During    those  fifty  years  the  army  has  been  called 

324 


THE   JUBILEE   AND    AFTER 

upon  to  maintain  the  interests  of  the  British  Empire  in 
every  quarter  of  the  globe.  It  is  deeply  grateful  for  the 
concern  wliich  your  Majesty  has  ever  shown  for  its  welfare 
in  peace  or  war  and  in  its  histor}^  and  for  your  Majesty's 
sympathy  for  the  widows  and  orphans,  and  those  who 
have  fallen  in  defence  of  the  British  flag." 

The  Queen  in  reply  said :  "  The  loyal  and  dutiful  ex- 
pression of  congratulations  of  my  army  and  auxiliary 
forces  upon  the  completion  of  the  fiftieth  year  of  my  reign 
is  a  source  of  deep  satisfaction  to  me,  and  I  accept  with 
pleasure  this  tribute  of  love  and  devotion.  Whenever, 
during  that  reign,  I  have  had  to  call  upon  the  army  to  per- 
form its  dutj^  in  any  part  of  the  world,  it  has  never  failed  to 
justify  the  confidence  and  earn  the  gratitude  of  myself  and 
my  people  by  its  gallantry  and  self-devotion,  and  I  have 
no  doubt  that,  should  the  occasion  unfortunately  arise,  I 
can  rely  with  equal  confidence  upon  the  co-operation  of 
my  auxiliary  forces. 

"But  however  confident  I  may  feel  in  the  valor  and 
endurance  of  my  troops,  there  is  no  blessing  which  I,  at 
this  season,  more  earnestly'-  ask  Almightj'-  God  to  extend 
to  my  people  during  the  remainder  of  my  reign  than  that 
of  peace." 

A  garden-party  given  by  the  Queen  in  the  grounds  at 
Buckingham  Palace  terminated  the  London  season. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  LAST  DECADE  OF  THE  CENTURY 

The  great  deep-water  dock  at  Southampton  was  opened 
in  1890.  The  dock  had  cost  about  £350,000;  its  entrance 
was  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  wide,  and  the  water 
area  of  its  interior  eighteen  acres. 

The  Queen  came  for  the  ceremony  from  Osborne,  and 
named  the  new  w^ater  space  the  Empress  Dock.  A  pretty 
obser^^ance  was  repeated  of  making  the  vessel  which  bore 
the  Queen  break  a  ribbon  stretched  across  from  side  to 
side  at  the  entrance  to  the  newly  finished  quays. 

The  clever  and  gifted  Queen  of  Roumania,  whose  coun- 
try was  destined  to  be  the  home  of  one  of  the  Queen's  grand- 
children, a  daughter  of  the  Duchess  of  Edinburgh,  came 
to  Scotland  to  see  our  Queen.  Torchlight  processions, 
dances,  dinner-parties,  and  ga^^  gatherings,  enlivened  by 
her  company  and  her  talents,  made  the  time  at  Balmoral 
a  very  happy  one  during  her  stay. 

In  Ireland  a  serious  potato  famine  again  gave  the  Queen 
the  opportunity  of  showing  her  compassion  for  the  poor 
people,  who  suffered  chiefly  in  the  western  part  of  the 
country ;  but  the  distress  was  great  wherever  the  root  form- 
ed the  staple  of  food. 

India  received  a  fresh  acknowledgment  of  the  care  with 
which  her  Empress  watched  over  her  interests  in  the  ap- 
pointment to  the  Commander-in-Chief  ship  at  Bombay  of  her 
soldier  son,  the  Duke  of  Connaught,  whose  tenure  of  com- 
mand was  most  happily  signalized  b}^  very  many  proofs  of 
the  true  and  abundant  loyalty  of  the  gallant  princes,  not 
only  of  the  Presidencj^  over  which  he  exercised  military 
rule,  but  also  in  many  other  parts  of  India  which  he  visited. 

326 


THE   LAST   DECADE   OF  THE  CENTURY 

Our  Eastern  Empire  was  also  visited  by  his  nephew. 
Prince  Albert  Victor,  alas!  too  soon  to  be  taken  from  us. 
The  fatal  illness  which  attacked  him  at  Sandringham 
after  his  return  in  1892  put  the  whole  of  the  Queen's  domin- 
ions into  mourning.  It  was  a  terrible  blow  to  his  grand- 
mother, and  to  the  very  many  who  had  felt  a  deep  personal 
sympathy  for  a  nature  singularly  unselfish  and  upright. 

I  give  some  lines  which  endeavor  to  express  the  sense 
of  this  loss  of  the  eldest  son  of  the  Prince  of  Wales. 

"  For  marriage  promise  changed  to  death,  for  one 

Young  soldier  dead: 
For  bride,  for  mother,  for  dear  hopes  undone. 

Our  tears  are  shed. 
HaK-mast  the  myriad  British  Standards  float. 
All  seas  repeat  our  England's  funeral  note. 

"Sorrow  divine  that  makes  one  bond  for  all 

Hath  done  this  thing. 
No  majesty  of  conquest  can  make  faU 

Tears  for  a  king; 
Yet  all  are  proud,  who  speak  the  English  tongue. 
To  mourn  a  comrade  in  this  Prince  so  young. 

"Comrade  in  memories  that  can  never  sleep: 

Of  great  deeds  past; 
Of  Her  whose  reign  to-day  proud  Windsor's  Keep 

Sees  not  the  last; 
Her  grandson's  death  shows  forth  our  union's  cause. 
The  people's  heart  enthroned  in  Britain's  laws. 

"True  type  of  England's  gentleness,  farewell! 

Our  love  must  yield 
To  Love  immortal;  and  this  funeral  kneU 

In  God's  great  field 
Enrolled  thee  in  His  hosts,  to  be  some  hour 
A  priest  in  righteousness,  a  king  in  power!" 

Princess  Marie  of  Edinburgh  was  married  to  the  Prince 
of  Roumania  in  1892.  The  fine  castle  on  the  Danube,  of 
HohenzoUem  Hechingen,  received  many  guests  who  went 

327 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

to  do  honor  to  the  occasion.  The  place  is  little  known 
to  English  tourists,  but  is  beautifully  situated.  The  Prince, 
while  ser\dng  in  a  Prussian  regiment,  was  suddenly  told 
that  he  had  better  try  the  venture  of  taking  possession  of 
the  crown  of  Roumania;  and,  acting  on  the  advice,  he 
made  the  doubtful  experiment  a  signal  success. 

Another  of  the  Queen's  grandchildren.  Princess  Mar- 
garet of  Prussia,  was  married  to  the  Prince  of  Hesse ;  her 
sister.  Princess  Sophia,  having  already  become  Crown 
Princess  of  Greece. 

The  last  decades  of  the  century  have  been  remarkable 
for  the  magnificence  of  the  gifts  presented  to  the  public 
by  rich  and  generous  men.  The  present  made  to  the  people 
by  Sir  Henry  Tate,  in  building  the  great  picture-gallery 
facing  the  Thames,  w^as  marked  by  the  presence  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales  at  the  opening,  and  by  speeches  delivered 
by  Mr.  Balfour  and  Sir  William  Harcourt.  Mr,  Carnegie, 
the  great  steel  and  iron  worker  of  the  United  States,  has 
also  astonished  the  world  by  the  magnificence  of  his 
contributions  in  support  of  the  education  of  the  people 
and  in  the  giving  of  schools  and  libraries,  the  assertion 
being  that  he  has  spent  something  like  twenty  millions. 
A  very  fine  gallery  was  also  presented  by  Sir  Andrew 
Walker  to  the  city  of  Liverpool,  and  the  gifts  made  to  Lon- 
don for  the  housing  of  the  poor  by  Mr.  Peabody  more  than 
deserve  the  recognition  of  a  statue  placed  near  the  Royal 
Exchange.  Lord  Iveagh  and  his  brother.  Lord  Ardilaun, 
besides  restoring  a  great  church,  have  also  spent  vast 
sums  on  artisan  dwellings  in  Dublin. 

Other  magnificent  presents  were  given  in  order  to  com- 
plete the  building  of  the  Imperial  Institute,  which  was 
fortunate  in  all  except  its  situation,  being  rather  far  from 
the  city.  It  still  continues  its  work  in  one  half  of  the  build- 
ing designed  for  it,  while  the  other  has  been  accepted  by 
the  London  University  as  fulfilling  all  they  want,  and 
giving  adequate  space  to  a  teaching  body  who  must  have 
technical  as  well  as  other  schools  for  the  full  performance 
of  the  educational  duties  which  they  have  undertaken. 

328 


THE   LAST   DECADE  OF  THE  CENTURY 

An  excellent  hall  provides  a  meeting-place  for  the  reading 
of  papers  on  all  subjects  touching  the  welfare  of  the  Empire. 

The  Queen  was  anxious  to  show  her  full  participation  in 
this  acknowledgment  of  the  growth  of  her  Empire  beyond 
the  seas,  and  was  present  at  the  opening  ceremony.  The 
occasion  was  a  memorable  one,  vast  crowds  assembling 
in  the  park  and  along  the  route,  and  in  their  thousands  in 
the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  Institute.  Troops 
and  volunteers  lined  the  route  from  Buckingham  Palace 
to  South  Kensington.  The  Household  Cavalry  were 
stationed  at  various  points,  battalions  of  the  Guards' 
regiments  lined  the  park,  and  the  Lancers  and  volunteers 
were  also  posted  in  suitable  places. 

Sir  Frederick  Abel,  who  has  been  the  mainstay  and 
unfailing  support  of  the  Institute  from  its  first  inception 
to  its  present  satisfactory  financial  condition,  met  all  the 
guests  and  arranged  where  they  should  be  placed.  The 
Indian  princes  were  received  with  great  enthusiasm. 
Soon  the  whole  of  the  Queen's  family  arrived,  the  Prince 
and  Princess  of  Wales,  with  Princess  May,  now  betrothed 
to  the  Duke  of  York,  and  her  ever-popular  mother,  the 
Duchess  of  Teck,  meeting  with  a  very  hearty  greeting. 

The  Queen,  with  her  glittering  Life  Guard  escort,  arrived, 
and  iimnediately  in  front  of  her  carriage  were  the  Canadian 
and  New  South  Wales  troopers  in  their  field-service  uni- 
form. They  were  wildly  cheered  by  the  people,  who  at 
once  realized  the  full  significance  of  their  appearance  in 
the  imperial  cortege. 

The  Great  Hall  was  entirely  filled  with  a  bright  mass  of 
uniforms  and  ladies'  dresses.  The  Queen  was  escorted 
up  the  centre  by  the  Prince  of  Wales,  while  the  audience 
stood.  Then,  in  reply  to  an  address  presented  to  her, 
she  said :  "  I  recognize  in  the  Institute  a  symbol  of  the 
unity  of  the  Empire.  That  it  may  long  continue,  and 
never  cease  to  flourish,  is  my  earnest  prayer."  The  Prince 
of  Wales  made  the  formal  declaration,  and  then  from  the 
belfry  of  the  tower  came  the  chime  and  clang  of  the  joy- 
bells  as  the  Queen  returned  to  her  carriage. 

329 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

Lord  Rosebery's  government  came  into  power  in  1894, 
and  the  new  Premier  quenched  the  ardent  aspirations  of 
his  Irish  allies  by  saying  that  Home  Rule  would  not  be 
granted  until  the  predominant  partner,  meaning  England, 
had  been  convinced  of  its  justice. 

Lord  Salisbury  came  into  power  again  in  1895,  on  a 
decisive  pronouncement  of  the  electors,  the  issue  being 
again  the  Home  Rule  question,  although  the  accidental 
vote  on  which  the  Ministry  resigned  was  a  charge  that 
there  was  not  sufficient  small-arm  ammunition  available 
for  the  army. 

The  wedding  of  two  grandchildren  of  the  Queen,  Princess 
Alice's  eldest  son,  the  Grand  Duke  of  Hesse,  to  the  Duke 
of  Edinburgh's  daughter.  Princess  Victoria  Melita — the 
second  name  being  a  recollection  of  the  Duke's  long  resi- 
dence at  Malta — gave  the  Queen  again  the  pleasure  of 
visiting  Coburg,  where  a  long  series  of  festivities  t6ok  place, 
which  were  followed  by  yet  another  happy  betrothal — 
namely,  that  of  Princess  Alice's  daughter  Alix  to  the  heir 
to  the  Russian  throne,  the  first  cousin  of  the  Duke  of  York, 

The  terrible  massacres  in  Armenia,  the  outbreak  in 
Crete,  the  encouragement  given  to  the  Greeks  to  accept 
the  arbitrament  of  war  against  Turkey — all  brought  in 
1895  the  ever-recurrent  Eastern  question  most  painfully  be- 
fore the  public.  Over  one  hundred  members  of  the  House 
of  Commons  signed  a  memorial  encouraging  the  Greeks 
to  undertake  a  campaign,  w^hich  ended  most  disastrously, 
and  would  have  again  subjected  the  Hellenes  to  the  rule 
of  Turkey  had  not  the  Great  Powers  made  it  clear  that 
they  would  not  suffer  Athens  again  to  fall  under  the  domi- 
nation of  the  Porte.  A  very  plucky  resistance  made  by 
the  Greek  army  only  showed  the  hopelessness  of  their 
anticipations,  for,  great  as  was  the  horror  excited  by  the 
Armenian  massacres,  Europe  was  not  yet  ready  to  face 
the  far  greater  slaughter  which  a  general  war  in  the  East 
would  have  inevitably  brought  about. 

Yet  the  British  Prime  Minister  declared  that  we''  had 
put  our  money  "  upon  the  wrong  horse  "  in  backing  Turkey 

330 


THE    QUEEN    IN  THE    DKESs   WORN    UY    HER  AT    THE  JUBILEE   SERVICE,  iSSy 


\, 


THE   LAST   DECADE   OF  THE   CENTURY 

in  the  middle  of  the  century,  and  it  is  unlikely  that  the 
insincerity  with  which  the  Turks  made  promises  of  ref- 
ormation will  ever  be  forgiven  or  forgotten.  The  Sultan 
had  to  retire  from  Crete,  and  Prince  George  of  Greece  be- 
came its  ruler. 

But  we  were  fated  to  keep  our  powder  dry  for  smaller 
wars.  Ashantee,  and  its  capital  Coomassie,  the  centre 
of  horrors  even  greater  than  those  in  Armenia,  was  the 
scene  of  action  for  a  second  expedition  to  accomplish 
thoroughly  a  task  we  had  hoped  had  been  concluded  by 
Lord  Wolseley's  conquest  in  that  region.  The  campaign 
brought  renewed  grief  to  the  Queen  in  the  fatal  ending 
to  a  fever,  contracted  in  the  deadly  marches  through  the 
West  African  Hinterland,  by  Prince  Yienry  of  Battenberg. 
Unwilling  to  remain  on  the  active  list  of  the  army  without 
taking  part  in  its  dangers,  he  volunteered  for  service.  The 
fever  did  not  attack  him  until  he  had  accomplished  a  great 
part  of  the  march  inland,  and  he  was  sent  back  to  the  coast 
suffering  much,  but  not  in  a  condition  which  was  regarded 
by  the  doctors  as  very  serious.  After  being  carried  on 
board  ship  the  symptoms  gave  warning  of  the  end,  which 
came  in  a  few  days  after  leaving  Cape  Coast  Castle. 

Prince  Henry  had  been  appointed  Governor  of  the  Isle 
of  Wight,  and  at  Whippingham,  where  he  was  laid  to  rest, 
the  Princess  erected  a  beautiful  monument,  the  sarcophagus 
being  surmounted  by  a  recumbent  statue,  and  the  tomb 
being  ornamented  at  the  sides  and  corners  with  small 
columns  of  the  green  and  white  marble  found  on  the  island 
of  lona — the  birthplace  of  Christianity  in  these  islands — 
a  place  he  was  fond  of  visiting  when  cruising  in  his  yacht 
among  the  Hebrides. 

Looking  back  again  to  1893,  we  must  not  forget  to  record 
that  the  Queen  went  to  her  old  home  at  Kensington  Palace 
in  June  to  unveil  on  the  eastern  front  a  statue  of  herself, 
crowned,  robed  in  her  coronation  attire,  with  a  sceptre  in 
her  hand — a  statue  by  her  fourth  daughter.  Princess 
Louise.  Large  stands  were  erected  on  each  side,  and  the 
Queen  drove  up  the  Broad  Walk,  and  from  her  carriage — 

331 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

after  the  figure  (which  was  carved  in  one  piece  of  Carrara 
stone)  had  been  unveiled — spoke  thus : 

"  I  thank  you  very  heartily  for  your  loyal  address,  and 
for  the  kind  wishes  to  commemorate  my  Jubilee  by  the 
erection  of  a  statue  of  myself  on  the  spot  where  I  was 
born,  and  lived  till  my  accession.  It  gives  me  great  pleas- 
ure to  be  here  on  this  occasion  in  my  dear  old  home,  and  to 
witness  the  unveiling  of  this  fine  statue  so  admirably  de- 
signed and  executed  by  my  daughter." 

The  desire  of  the  people  of  Kensington  w4th  regard  to 
this  statue  was  coimnemorated  in  the  following  inscription : 

"  In  front  of  the  palace  where  she  was  born,  and  where 
she  lived  till  her  accession,  her  loyal  subjects  of  Ken- 
sington place  this  statue,  the  work  of  her  daughter,  to 
commemorate  fifty  years  of  her  reign." 

In  the  following  month  the  Duke  of  York's  marriage  to 
Princess  May,  who  had  also  been  born  at  Kensington 
Palace,  took  place  in  the  Chapel  Royal,  St.  James's. 
The  King  and  Queen  of  the  Belgians,  the  King  and  Queen 
of  Demnark,  the  heir  to  the  Russian  throne,  two  of  the 
Queen's  grandchildren,  Prince  Henry  of  Prussia  and 
the  Grand  Duke  of  Hesse,  were  among  those  present. 
Archbishop  Benson  gave  a  brief  address,  and  the  Queen 
afterwards  received  a  very  numerous  company  at  Buck- 
ingham Palace. 

Another  happy  visit  abroad,  this  time  to  Florence  and 
to  Coburg,  where  she  had  not  been  for  eighteen  years, 
gave  the  Queen  much  pleasure,  and  she  was  very  busy  in 
November  in  helping  the  poor  people  who  suffered  much 
from  the  floods  of  the  Thames,  a  recurrent  trouble  which 
all  our  engineering  has  been  unable  hitherto  to  avoid. 

Next  year  her  visit  abroad  was  to  Darmstadt  and  to 
Nice,  and  in  the  autumn  the  German  Emperor  paid  a  visit 
to  take  part  in  the  races  at  the  Cowes  regatta. 

On  June  22,  1897,  we  celebrated,  with  the  greatest  mag- 
nificence, the  sixtieth  anniversary  of  the  Queen's  reign. 
Every  colony  sent  a  detachment  of  troops  to  lend  dignity 
to  the  occasion,  and   to  prove   the  universal   pride   and 


THE   LAST   DECADE   OF  THE  CENTURY 

love  with  which  she  had  inspired  her  people  in  every 
clime. 

The  route  this  time  was  to  take  a  far  wider  sweep  than 
that  arranged  and  followed  ten  years  before.  The  foreign 
representatives,  princes,  and  others  were  to  accompany 
her  the  whole  way  on  horseback ;  the  navy  was  to  be  iuWy 
represented  by  numbers  of  seamen;  the  auxiliary  forces 
were  to  take  their  part  with  the  army  in  lining  the  streets, 
and  every  arm  of  the  service  was  to  be  fully  represented. 
Never  did  event  more  exactly  answer  the  expectations 
of  its  proposers.  The  immense  length  of  the  procession, 
and  its  extraordinary  variety,  delighted  the  multitudes, 
who  had  everywhere  full  opportunity  of  gratifying  their 
loyalty  and  curiosity  at  some  point  or  other  in  the  long 
route  to  St.  Paul's,  over  London  Bridge,  and  so  back  by 
the  south  side  to  Westminster  Bridge,  and  home  by  the 
Mall. 

At  St.  Paul's  all  the  steps  were  occupied  by  the  arch- 
bishops, bishops,  clergy,  ambassadors,  diplomatists,  and 
men  whose  position  entitled  them  to  be  where  the  sovereign 
would  pause  in  her  journey  to  give  thanks  to  God  for  the 
blessings  vouchsafed  to  her.  She  remained  seated  in  her 
carriage,  drawn  by  eight  cream-colored  horses,  at  the  foot 
of  the  steps.  Her  escort  of  foreign  princes  and  her  own 
family  formed  in  line  fronting  the  doors  of  the  great  cathe- 
dral. Lord  Wolseley  and  Lord  Roberts,  in  their  uniforms 
of  field  marshals,  took  their  places  to  right  and  left,  while 
the  Prince  of  Wales  remained  close  to  the  carriage.  The 
Archbishop  offered  prayer,  and  the  grand  anthem,  "We 
praise  Thee,  0  God,"  was  sung  with  very  fine  effect. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  brief  service,  and  as  the  pro- 
cession again  moved  off,  the  Archbishop,  like  the  hearty 
Englishman  he  is,  led  three  cheers  for  the  Queen.  She 
was  glad  to  support  the  Prince  of  Wales's  proposal  that 
this  her  second  Jubilee  should  be  remembered  by  a 
fund  raised  to  pay  the  debts  of  the  great  hospitals,  and 
£750,000  were  received  in  response  to  the  appeal  made. 
The  Princess  of  Wales  also  wrote  to  the  Lord  Mayor 

333 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

in  favor  of  the  poor  of  London,  and  over  £300,000  were 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  those  appointed  to  distribute  the 
money. 

The  Queen  subsequently  sent  the  following  message  to 
her  people : 

"Windsor,  July  15,  1897. 

"I  have  frequently  expressed  my  personal  feelings  to 
my  people,  and  though,  on  this  memorable  occasion,  there 
have  been  many  official  expressions  of  my  deep  sense  of 
the  unbounded  loyalty  evinced,  I  cannot  rest  satisfied 
without  personally  giving  utterance  to  these  sentiments. 

"  It  is  difficult  for  me  on  this  occasion  to  say  how  truly 
touched  and  grateful  I  am  for  the  spontaneous  universal 
outburst  of  loyal  attachment  and  real  affection  which  I 
have  experienced  on  the  completion  of  the  sixtieth  year 
of  my  reign. 

"  During  my  progress  through  London  on  June  22d  this 
great  enthusiasm  was  shown  in  the  most  striking  manner, 
and  can  never  be  effaced  from  my  heart. 

"  It  is,  indeed,  deeply  gratifying,  after  so  many  years  of 
labor  and  anxiety  for  the  good  of  my  beloved  country,  to 
find  that  my  exertions  have  been  appreciated  throughout 
my  vast  Empire. 

"In  weal  and  woe  I  have  ever  had  the  true  sympathy 
of  all  my  people,  which  has  been  warmly  reciprocated  bj^ 
myself.  It  has  given  me  unbounded  pleasure  to  se-e  so 
many  of  my  subjects  from  all  parts  of  the  world  assembled 
here,  and  to  find  them  joining  in  the  acclamations  of  loyal 
devotion  to  myself,  and  I  wish  to  thank  them  all  from 
the  depth  of  my  grateful  heart. 

"  I  shall  ever  pray  God  to  bless  them  and  to  enable  me 
still  to  discharge  my  duties  for  their  welfare  as  long  as 
life  lasts.  VICTORIA  R.  I." 

On  May  19,  1898,  a  statesman  who  had  been  four  times 
the  Queen's  Prime  Minister  —  namely,  Mr.  Gladstone  — 
died  at  Hawarden.  The  memories  of  his  great  financial 
services  to  his  country,  his  great  eloquence,  his  fine  char- 

334 


THE  LAST  DECADE  OF  THE  CENTURY 

acter,  and  the  great  hold  he  had  won  on  the  sympathies 
of  his  countrymen,  caused  his  loss  to  be  most  sincerely 
mourned  by  all  who  could  appreciate  earnestness,  sym- 
pathy, and  grandeur  of  aim  in  political  efforts. 

The  public  lying-in-state  in  Westminster  Abbey  of  Mr. 
Gladstone,  as  well  as  the  funeral  there — soon  to  be  followed 
by  that  of  the  loving  wife  whose  devotion  to  him  could 
not  be  excelled — gave  occasion  for  a  very  remarkable 
exhibition  of  public  mourning  and  respect. 

Not  long  after  his  death  the  Queen  asked  that  his 
lovely  little  granddaughter,  Dorothy,  should  be  brought 
to  see  her  at  Windsor.  Mrs.  Gladstone,  to  whom  the 
Queen  had  written  expressing  her  grief  at  the  sad  news 
of  Mr.  Gladstone's  death,  was  unable  to  accompany  the 
child. 

Full  of  resolve  as  the  Queen  always  was  to  vindicate 
the  position  of  our  country,  if  necessary  by  the  dread 
means  of  war,  the  necessity  w^as  always  abhorred  by  her, 
and  the  suffering  caused  gave  her  the  greatest  pain.  The 
failure  of  all  attempts  to  pursue  successfully  the  negotia- 
tions \v^ith  President  Kriiger  was  a  bitter  disappointment 
to  her,  as  well  as  to  her  people,  who  hoped  that  the  closing 
years  of  her  reign  might  be  given  entirely  to  peace.  But 
this  was  not  to  be,  and  the  apparent  ignorance  of  what 
must  be  the  attitude  of  the  British  people,  and  their  govern- 
ment, and  their  sovereign,  induced  a  declaration  of  war 
and  the  invasion  of  Cape  Colony  and  Natal,  and  caused 
the  war  which  was  not  fully  over  even  when  the  Com- 
mander-in-Chief, Lord  Roberts,  returned  to  see  his  sov- 
ereign, after  many  months  of  sanguinary  battle  as  well 
as  of  desultory  warfare. 

During  all  this  time  the  Queen  followed  with  the  closest 
attention  every  movement  of  her  troops,  and  her  wonderful 
memory  often  enabled  her  to  correct  those  around  her  as 
to  every  detail  respecting  the  places  where  her  officers 
had  received  w^ounds,  remembering  as  well  the  nature  of 
the  hurt.  She  was  again  unwearjnng  in  visiting  the 
wounded  at  Netley,  and  in  seeing  those  who  were  able  to 

335 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

visit  her  at  Osborne  or  at  Windsor.  She  also  went  to  the 
Herbert  Hospital. 

Her  courage,  which  throughout  her  life  was  so  con- 
spicuous, was  never  better  seen  than  in  the  days  when 
repeated  checks  were  caused  by  the  strong  positions  of 
the  enemy.  She  not  onl}'^  never  used  herself  the  language 
of  doubt,  but  disliked  to  hear  anything  but  the  language 
of  resolute  confidence.  We  had  with  us,  as  Mr.  Balfour 
said,  the  conscience  of  the  Empire,  and  it  was  a  glorious 
satisfaction  to  her  Majesty  to  see  her  loyal  subjects  in 
Australia,  New  Zealand,  the  Cape,  Natal,  and  Canada, 
willing  to  shed  their  life's  blood  for  the  continuance  of 
the  institutions  through  which  they  themselves  had  grown 
to  manhood,  and  had  found  freedom  in  union. 

Among  her  public  appearances  in  1899  was  the  opening 
of  the  Bristol  Convalescent  Home.  But  ceremonies  brought 
increasing  fatigue.  Unable  to  see  very  clearly  herself 
any  print  or  small  writing,  she  had  all  telegrams  written 
large,  and  anything  printed  read  to  her,  but  yet  continued 
signing  all  documents  with  an  unfaltering  persistency 
wliich  very  few  at  her  age  could  have  shown.  Music  was 
enjoyed  as  much  as  ever,  for  her  hearing  remained  excellent, 
and  in  December,  1899,  she  sat  in  St.  George's  Chapel, 
Windsor,  while  Mendelssohn's  "Elijah"  was  performed. 
She  also  endured  the  fatigue  of  a  long  Drawing  -  room 
reception,  and  laid  the  foundation  stone  of  the  new  Victoria 
and  Albert  Museum  buildings  at  South  I^ensington, 
which  are  now  rising  to  the  westward  of  the  great  Roman 
Catholic  Church  of  the  Oratory, 

The  last  year  of  our  Queen's  long  life  saw  no  abatement 
in  the  energy  with  which,  despite  failing  eyesight  and 
strength,  she  showed  herself  to  her  people,  encouraging 
by  her  example  and  presence  all  that  she  thought  most 
worthy  in  the  movements  among  them  deserving  her  coun- 
tenance. 

She  came  to  London  from  Windsor  on  March  8th  in  order 
to  personally  show  her  gratitude  for  the  efforts  made  by 
the  City  in  equipping  a  regiment  for  her  service  in  South 

336 


THE   LAST   DECADE   OF  THE   CENTURY 

Africa.  At  the  Temple  steps  on  the  Embankment  she 
was  met  by  the  Lord  Mayor,  sheriffs,  and  aldermen. 
The  Lord  Mayor  presented  the  sword,  and  said,  "  Your 
ancient  and  most  loyal  City  heartily  welcomes  your  Maj- 
esty." She,  bowing  in  response,  said,  "I  wish  to  thank 
you  for  all  that  my  City  has  done."  At  night  her  palace 
was  serenaded  by  a  vast  crowd,  and  "God  save  the 
Queen  "  was  sung  by  many  thousands  of  voices. 

The  whole  year  was  occupied  in  watching  with  anxiety 
the  course  of  the  South  African  war,  the  main  features 
of  which  will  be  well  remembered.  Troops  of  every 
nationality  under  the  British  flag  greatly  distinguished 
themselves,  and  the  Queen  had  been  especially  pleased 
with  the  gallantry  of  the  Dublin  Fusiliers,  who,  under 
Sir  Redvers  Buller,  had  suffered  terribly  in  the  desperate 
fighting  on  the  Tugela. 

The  Queen  was  determined  to  thank  the  Irish  herself, 
and  intimated  to  Lord  Cadogan,  the  Lord  Lieutenant,  that 
she  would  arrive  in  Dublin  early  in  April.  "The  Queen 
is  happy  to  be  once  more  among  her  Irish  people,  from 
whom  she  has  again  received  so  warm  a  welcome."  Thus 
she  wrote  a  day  or  two  after.  She  was  much  gratified 
by  her  reception  from  the  thousands  who  saw  her  as  she 
drove  through  the  streets  of  the  Irish  capital,  after  landing 
at  Kingstown.  In  the  harbor  the  Channel  Fleet  had  met 
and  saluted  her,  and  in  the  evening  every  vessel  was  out- 
lined by  electric  light. 

On  the  first  Saturday  thirty-five  thousand  school-children 
were  gathered  together  in  Phoenix  Park,  the  Queen  ordering 
that  her  carriage  should  be  driven  at  a  walking  pace.  She 
was  much  amused  when  a  little  child  cried  out,  "Shure, 
you're  a  nice  old  lady."  A  party  of  children  from  Mayo, 
through  some  accident,  arrived  too  late,  and  the  Queen  at 
once  arranged  that  they  should  have  an  interview  all  to 
themselves  the  following  afternoon.  The  uniform  of  the 
Household  Cavalry  was  again  seen  in  the  streets  of  Dublin 
as  her  Majesty's  escort,  and  nothing  could  have  been  more 
cordial  and  more  courteous  than  the  conduct  of  the  people. 

337 


VICTORIA  R.I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

The  Queen  was  sorry  to  leave  Ireland,  which  took  place 
after  a  review  of  the  Dublin  garrison  and  the  Curragh 
Camp  troops  in  Phoenix  Park.  It  will  always  remain  a 
pleasant  memory  with  the  citizens  of  Dublin  that  the  last 
State  visit  of  the  Queen's  great  reign  was  paid  to  them  in 
order  to  show  her  sympathy  with  the  Irish  people  and  her 
appreciation  of  the  gallantry  of  her  Irish  soldiers. 

In  July  the  Queen  gave  one  of  those  great  garden-parties 
at  Buckingham  Palace  which  afforded  an  opportunity 
to  many  to  see  her,  alas!  as  it  proved  for  the  last  time. 
She  drove  in  a  low  victoria,  drawn  by  two  gray  horses, 
and  wherever  she  went  the  gayly  dressed  guests  formed  a 
thick  hedge  so  that  they  might  catch  a  glance  of  her  eyes 
and  hear  the  sound  of  her  voice.  She  wore  spectacles, 
as  her  sight  had  become  too  dim  to  allow  her,  without  their 
aid,  readily  to  recognize  the  faces  of  those  with  whom  she 
spoke.  She  took  tea,  as  usual,  in  a  tent  apart  with  her 
family  and  those  guests  specially  surmnoned  to  speak  to  her. 

Again  a  terrible  grief  was  to  be  hers  in  the  illness  and 
death  of  her  second  son,  the  Duke  of  Edinburgh.  Courage- 
ously rallying  under  the  blow,  however,  she  made  arrange- 
ments to  be  represented  at  the  funeral  of  the  King  of  Italy, 
whom  the  hand  of  an  assassin  struck  down  about  the  same 
time  at  Monza,  near  Milan.  The  Duke  of  Edinburgh  was 
buried  at  Coburg,  every  detail  being  reported  to  the  Queen, 
who  bore  this  trial  with  great  fortitude. 

Once  more  Balmoral  and  its  Highlanders  received  their 
mistress;  once  more  she  had  an  inspection  of  a  few  of 
her  troops  there,  this  time  the  soldiers  being  those  belong- 
ing to  a  native  force  of  West  Africans ;  once  more  she  drove 
about  visiting  the  old  places  and  caring  for  the  old  people ; 
while  all  the  time  the  sad  tidings  of  wounds  and  deaths 
and  fever  brought  the  names  of  her  soldiers  who  had  died 
for  her  Empire  in  the  distant  South  Africa  to  her  ears. 
But  still,  in  an  ever  greater  degree,  was  the  determination 
of  the  country  shown  to  finish  the  task  it  had  taken  in 
hand.  The  general  election  confirmed  the  policy  of  those 
who  had  made  up  their  minds  to  assert  the  right  of  the 

338 


THE   LAST   DECADE   OF  THE  CENTURY 

freedom  of  all  from  the  Zambesi  to  the  Cape  from  any 
exclusive  privilege  of  oligarchic  government. 

Regiments  began  to  return  home,  and  the  City  had  a 
great  thanksgiving  service  at  St.  Paul's  for  the  battalion 
more  immediately  connected  with  London;  but  by  the 
time  the  Queen  again  went  south  it  was  noticed  that  she 
was  not  so  strong,  that  the  former  punctuality  was  no 
longer  persisted  in,  and  the  journey  from  Scotland  tired 
her.  Yet  she  saw  at  Windsor  Sir  Redvers  Duller,  who 
returned  victorious  from  Natal,  and  Sir  George  White, 
the  defender  of  Ladysmith. 

Windsor  also  saw  her  welcome  the  return  of  her  Life 
Guards  in  the* quadrangle  of  the  castle.  Then  the  second 
battalion  of  the  Royal  Canadian  Regiment,  returning 
under  Colonel  Otter,  had  their  turn,  marching  past  the 
Queen's  carriage;  and,  drawing  up  in  close  columns  of 
companies  with  the  officers  in  front,  they  were  able  to  hear 
their  sovereign  say,  "I  am  very  glad  to  see  you  here  to- 
day, and  to  express  my  warm  thanks  for  the  admirable 
services  rendered  in  the  war  by  the  Canadians." 

A  few  days  afterwards  the  Queen  visited,  at  the  Windsor 
Guildhall,  the  Irish  Exhibition  of  Home  Industries,  Lady 
Mayo,  the  Duchess  of  Abercorn,  and  Mrs.  Lecky  being 
among  those  who  had  stalls  and  from  whom  the  Queen 
made  purchases.  She  stayed  an  hour,  and  said  she  had 
been  much  pleased  and  interested. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE    QUEEN'S    HOMES 

Buckingham  Palace— Buckingham  House  as  it  used 
to  be  called — was  outside  the  Httle  town  of  Westminster, 
which  clung  to  its  river  bank  in  the  neighborhood  of  its 
Abbey,  and  its  gardens  stretched  along  the  waterway^ 
over  the  present  grounds  occupied  by  the  Mall  and  the 
Queen's  gardens,  in  various  fields  and  plots.  Mulberries 
were  largely  planted  there  in  the  time  of  King  James, 
who  had  an  idea  that  the  silk  industry  might  be  trans- 
planted from  China  to  England. 

There  was  a  house  called  after  Goring,  a  noted  name 
during  the  wars  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  the  name 
possessed  a  peerage  in  the  earldom  of  Norwich. 

The  house  was  burned  towards  the  end  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  The  Duke  of  Devonshire  subsequently 
became  possessed  of  it,  but  it  was  then  only  "a  neat 
box/'  and  pleasantly  situated  among  gardens  beside  the 
prospect  of  the  park  and  the  adjoining  fields.  It  soon 
afterwards  was  bought  by  the  Duke  of  Buckinghamshire, 
one  of  the  favorite  Ministers  of  Queen  Anne,  and  he  de- 
scribed his  house  as  "a  small  distance  from  London, 
where  I  can  conclude  the  evening  on  a  delightful  ter- 
race, free  from  late  visits.  The  avenues  to  it  are  along 
St.  James's  Park,  through  rows  of  goodly  ehns  on  the 
one  hand  and  gay  flourishing  limes  on  the  other  —  that 
for  coaches,  this  for  walking  —  the  Mall  lying  between 
them.  This  reaches  to  my  iron  palisade,  that  encom- 
passes a  square  court,  which  has  in  the  midst  a  great 
basin  with  statues  and  water-works,  and  from  its  en- 
trance rises  all  the  way  imperceptibly  till  we  mount  to  a 

340 


THE    QUEEN'S   HOMES 

terrace  in  front  of  a  large  hall,  where  there  is  a  large 
kitchen  thirty  feet  high,  with  an  open  cupola  on  the 
top,  and  from  a  terrace  four  hundred  paces  long  —  the 
wall  being  low  and  covered  with  roses  and  jessamine  — 
are  beheld  the  two  Queen's  parks  and  a  great  part  of 
Surrey." 

It  was  not  until  1723  that  the  Prince  and  Princess  of 
Wales,  afterwards  George  II.  and  Queen  Caroline,  offered 
liis  widow  a  sum  of  money  for  the  house.  "I  answered 
the  Princess,"  she  wrote,  "  that  I  was  under  no  necessity 
to  part  with  it ;  yet,  when  what  I  thought  was  the  value  of 
it  should  be  offered,  perhaps  my  prudence  might  overcome 
my  inclination.  If  the  Prince  and  Princess  prefer  much  to 
buying  outright  with  its  entire  contents  under  £60,000 
it  will  not  be  parted  with  as  it  now  stands,  and  all  his 
Majesty's  revenue  cannot  purchase  a  place  so  fit  for  them 
now  for  a  less  sum."  Her  effigy  may  still  be  seen  in  a 
glass-case  at  Westminster  Abbey.  It  was  not  until  she 
died  that  it  passed  to  the  reigning  family.  The  old  square 
Italian  centre  path,  with  colonnades  on  each  side  leading 
to  wings,  something  like  the  arrangement  of  Clieveden, 
was  altered  by  various  other  additions,  an  octagonal  library 
being  built  in  1767  by  George  III.,  where  Dr.  Johnson  was 
introduced  to  him. 

Many  of  the  Canaletti  pictures  of  Venice  and  other 
places  now  at  Windsor  were  then  at  Buckingham  House, 
which  was  called  "dull,  dowdj^  and  decent" — nothing 
more  than  a  large,  substantial,  respectable-looking  brick 
house.  During  the  Gordon  riots  the  King  addressed  the 
troops  quartered  about  the  ground,  saying:  "My  lads, 
my  crown  cannot  purchase  you  straw  to-night,  but  de- 
pend upon  it,  I  have  given  orders  that  sufficient  shall  be 
here  to-morrow  before  noon.  As  a  substitute  for  the  straw^ 
my  servants  will  constantly  serve  you  with  a  good  al- 
lowance of  wine  and  spirits,  and  I  shall  keep  you  com- 
pany myself  until  morning,"  which  he  did,  walking  in  the 
garden  and  receiving  all  messages  in  the  riding-house. 

All  his  children  were  born  there  except  the  eldest.     The 

341 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

architect  Nash  was  set  to  work  to  prepare  new  plans  in 
George  IV. 's  time  when  he  was  Regent,  and  all  sorts  of 
alterations  and  additions  were  made,  no  good  plan  being 
followed.  The  whole  place  was  a  cobble-work;  but  in 
1 83 1  a  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  recommended 
that  it  should  be  finished  as  a  royal  residence,  and  the 
work  begun  by  Nash  was  finished  by  Blore. 

But  the  house  was  never  made  use  of  until  Queen  Victoria 
lived  there,  when  the  Marble  Arch  stood  in  front  of  it,  and 
there  were  only  three  sides  of  a  quadrangle.  When  the 
new  front  was  built  the  arch  was  removed,  and  in  1852 
a  ball-room,  a  supper-room,  and  galleries  of  approach 
were  built  to  the  south.  Stone  was  used,  but  the  London 
atmosphere  deteriorated  the  surface  of  that  brought  from 
Caen  so  much  that  it  was  painted.  The  garden  west  front 
was  very  much  like  Nash  built  it.  The  State  entrance  is 
in  the  same  spot  as  the  entrance  to  the  old  house  was. 
In  the  centre  of  the  inner  court  white  marble  steps  and 
columns  supported  a  roof  which  is  too  low  for  good  effect, 
but  where  there  is  a  great  deal  of  space  for  the  arrival  and 
departure  of  company. 

A  wide  corridor,  traversing  at  right  angles  the  entrance 
hall,  gives  access  to  a  series  of  rooms  towards  the  front,  all 
handsomely  furnished,  but  rather  low  in  proportion  to 
their  size.  The  columns,  both  in  these  and  in  the  better- 
proportioned  apartments  above,  are  of  artificial  marble, 
or  Scagliola,  material  which  very  successfully  maintains 
cleanliness  from  its  polished  surface,  but  the  artificiality 
of  which  hardl}'^  justified  of  its  being  used  to  represent  such 
beautiful  natural  products,  as,  for  instance,  lapis  lazuli. 

At  the  end  of  this  great  corridor  there  is  a  private  stair- 
case on  the  right,  and  a  grand  staircase  of  white  marble 
on  the  left,  giving  access  to  the  large  reception-rooms 
above.  There  is  a  heavy  scroll-work  balustrade.  Indeed, 
the  fault  of  the  whole  decoration  is  the  ponderous  character 
of  the  ornamentation.  A  domed  glass  roof  gives  light. 
Full-length  portraits  by  Lawrence  of  George  III.,  Queen 
Charlotte,  William  IV.  and  Queen  Adelaide,  and  others, 

342 


THE    QUEEN'S    HOMES 

are  hung  on  its  walls.  A  wide  corridor  opens  through 
mirrored  doors  to  a  very  fine  supper-room  on  the  left. 
Farther  on  is  the  great  ball-room  or  concert-hall,  which 
is  one  hundred  and  ninty  feet  in  length,  sixty  in  width, 
and  forty-five  in  height,  and  where  there  is  a  fine  organ. 

Returning  again  to  the  head  of  the  stairs,  and  passing 
tlirough  a  large  ante-room,  the  long  picture-gallery  is 
entered — a  very  wide  apartment  and  very  well  lit  for  the 
exhibition  of  pictures,  of  which  it  has  many,  and  some 
very  remarkable.  Especially  is  this  the  case  in  the  ex- 
amples from  the  easels  of  Rembrandt,  Rubens,  Hobemar, 
Wolvermans,  Cuyp,  Ruysdael,  Van  der  Weld,  Frank  Holls, 
Paul  Potter,  Jan  Stein,  and  some  Italian  and  other  masters 
well  worthy  of  their  place.  Lit  from  above  this  gallery 
divides  the  old  ball-room — which  the  Queen  always  used  in 
the  first  years  of  her  reign  as  a  supper-room — from  the 
range  of  large  rooms  to  the  south  already  mentioned. 
The  suite  of  rooms  which  the  Queen  and  the  Prince  Consort 
occupied  were  on  the  western  front,  and  the  new  curtain 
wing,  or  front,  towards  St.  James's,  has  a  number  of  ex- 
cellently arranged  living-rooms.  The  fault  of  the  part 
of  the  building  containing  these  apartments,  which  are 
often  given  to  foreigners,  is  the  want  of  any  fine  means 
of  access  by  any  well-arranged  staircase.  In  short,  Buck- 
ingham Palace,  though  a  useful  building,  is  neither  bright, 
cheerful,  nor  so  well  arranged  as  any  of  the  great  palaces 
on  the  Continent.  King  Leopold's,  at  Brussels,  for  in- 
stance, is  better  arranged,  having  suites  of  fine  rooms 
more  elegantly  decorated.  Buckingham  Palace  shares 
the  heaviness  characteristic  of  the  end  of  the  Georgian 
period,  when  the  people  were  inclined  to  take  good  models 
only  to  spoil  them  with  overloaded  ornamentation  and 
somewhat  tawdry  coloring. 

The  Riding  School  is  a  very  fine  one,  and  it  has  a  room 
from  which  the  Queen  used  to  be  able  to  watch  her  children 
putting  their  horses  to  the  leaping  bar.  In  the  preparations 
for  both  the  Jubilee  processions  the  horses  were  practised 
there,  with  the  waving  of  flags,  the  cheering  of  men,  the 

343 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

playing  of  music,  and  as  far  as  possible  the  imitation  of 
all  the  sounds  they  would  be  called  upon  to  face  in  the 
presence  of  the  acclaiming  populace  in  the  streets.  The 
stables  are  also  remarkably  fine,  and  the  permanent  home 
of  the  famous  "creams/'  which,  caparisoned  in  scarlet, 
covered  with  gorgeous  harness,  and  led  by  scarlet  and 
gold-coated  grooms  with  black  velvet  jockey -like  caps, 
had  the  privilege  of  drawing  the  sovereign  to  and  from 
the  Houses  of  Parliament. 

Windsor  Castle  has  been  so  often  described  that  we 
need  only  speak  of  a  few  of  its  lesser-known  features. 

"Cavalleria  Rusticana"  was  performed  by  the  Lagos 
Italian  Opera  Company  before  the  Queen  at  Windsor  in 
November,  1891.  The  room  in  which  the  stage  for  this 
purpose  was  placed  was  one  of  the  small  courts  of  the  old 
castle  between  St.  George's  Hall  on  the  one  side  and  the 
State  apartments  looking  over  the  north  terrace  and 
Eton  on  the  other.  When  George  IV.  took  it  into  the  rest 
of  the  building,  lighting  it  by  vertical  windows  in  the  roof, 
it  was  made  into  a  commemorative  monument  to  the  soldiers 
and  statesmen  and  sovereigns  who  lived  through  the  time 
of  the  finish  of  the  great  war  with  France.  There,  placed 
the  highest  on  one  wall,  is  the  portrait  of  "  Brunswick's 
fated  chieftain,"  the  Duke  whose  father  had  been  killed  by 
the  French,  and  who,  at  Waterloo,  rushed  "  into  the  field 
and  foremost  fighting  fell."  Others  are  full-length  State 
pictures  of  sovereigns  in  their  robes,  generals  in  uniform, 
and  one  excellent  representation  of  a  cardinal  is  there  to 
reinind  the  visitor  that  whatever  goes  on  in  Europe  the 
Vatican  is  never  idle.  There  is  another  of  the  Pope  who 
reigned  at  the  time. 

The  space  in  the  great  entrance  hall  at  the  back  adjoin- 
ing the  armory  and  the  old  dining-room  of  Charles  11.  was 
very  ample  for  the  acting  troupe.  The  State  rooms  are  well 
known  to  the  public,  who  delight  in  wandering  through 
the  great  spaces.  One  is  filled  with  trophies  of  mediaeval 
armor,  two  more  with  gorgeous  tapestries.  Then  there 
is  the  tower  where  John  II.  of  France  was  kept  a  prisoner 

344 


THE   QUEEN'S   HOMES 

after  Poitiers,  while  the  wonderful  collection  of  Vandykes, 
filling  another  long  apartment,  whose  windows  look  out 
on  the  Norman  gateway,  show  with  what  zeal  the  pict- 
ures, gathered  by  Charles  I.,  and  dispersed  at  the  time  of 
the  Commonwealth,  have  been  gathered  again  under  the 
old  roof.  Prince  Rupert  was  the  Governor  of  Windsor, 
whose  love  for  art  and  invention  helped  to  fill  the  Castle 
with  the  fine  works  of  the  Dutch,  the  Italian,  and  the 
German  schools.  We  see  the  taste  of  Charles  II. 's  time  in 
the  painted  ceilings  of  the  room  which  served  him  as  a 
dining-room,  and  the  later  and  worse  taste  which  placed 
there  a  colored  window  of  George  III.  In  the  more  elaborate 
painting  on  the  ceilings  of  the  tapestry  halls  we  have  the 
ceilings  again  of  the  Restoration  period. 

The  library  is  not  so  well  known,  for  the  set  of  rooms 
occupied  by  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  some  time  afterwards 
used  as  dwelling-rooms,  were  thrown  by  Wj'^att,  the  architect 
emplo3^ed  by  George  IV.,  into  one  connected  gallery,  the 
ancient  apartments  forming  recesses  crowded  with  books. 
In  one  of  these  Queen  Anne  was  sitting  when  she  received 
a  brief  note  written  in  pencil  from  the  field  of  Blenheim 
wherein  the  Duke  of  Marlborough  told  her  that  Marshal 
Tallard,  the  French  commander,  was  a  prisoner  of  war  in 
his  coach,  and  that  her  Majesty  had  obtained  a  great 
victory. 

In  this  part  of  the  Castle,  too,  just  over  the  Norman 
gateway,  is  a  house  reserved  to  the  use  of  one  of  the  officers 
of  the  household,  and  through  this  chamber  the  portcullis 
passed;  the  walls  are  unchanged  since  the  days  when  it 
was  used  as  a  prison.  This  was  not  an  unusual  destina- 
tion of  a  portcullis  chamber,  for  the  gate-house  at  Edin- 
burgh Castle  was  used  for  a  similar  purpose,  the  prisoners 
who  were  condemned  to  die  on  the  morrow  being  obliged 
to  pass  their  last  night  within  its  precincts.  Many  of  the 
prisoners  have  written  their  names  on  the  stones,  in  the 
house  at  Windsor,  that  of  a  gentleman  of  the  name  of 
Fortescue  (" Fortescutum "  or  "Strong  Shield")  being 
specially  legible. 

345 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

Over  the  way,  in  the  interior  of  the  court,  is  the  entrance 
to  the  great  stone  stair  which  leads  up  to  the  apartments 
in  the  Round  Tower.  Down  this  arched  entrance  a  short 
cannon  frowns  from  a  narrow  embrasure  so  arranged  as  to 
command  the  stairs.  Within  the  northern  circumference 
of  the  ancient  keep  a  most  remarkable  well  exists.  With 
Norman  masonry  facing  it  round  near  its  mouth,  it  is 
carried  down  deep  through  the  chalk  till  excellent  water 
below  is  reached  at  a  great  depth.  It  is  not  likely  to  have 
been  made  before  the  Norman  time,  and  is  probably  a 
mark  of  the  occupation  of  the  place  by  William  the  Con- 
queror. Some  ancient  timber-work  in  the  interior  of  the 
keep  is  said  to  be  the  remains  of  a  platform  with  a  pent-roof 
over  it,  where  the  knights  sat  with  their  backs  against 
the  wall,  and  were  served  from  the  interior  space  when 
they  were  at  meat,  sitting  round  the  tower  in  memory  of  the 
Arthurian  heroes  of  the  Round  Table.  The  centre  court 
was  at  one  time  covered  in,  and  an  armory  arranged  under 
the  roof,  but  it  is  now  again  open.  The  dwelling-rooms  are 
all  around,  rising  in  two  stories,  the  height  of  the  walls, 
with  the  heavy  battlements  above,  having  been  again  the 
work  of  George  IV. 's  architect. 

A  walk  round  these  highest  ramparts  gives  a  magnif- 
icent view  of  the  Thames  winding  along  between  the 
ancient  borough  and  the  collegiate  village  of  Eton.  The 
stream  loses  itself  to  the  right  in  the  windings  that  take 
it  past  the  elm-wooded  playing-fields  of  the  great  college, 
and,  in  front,  stretches  onward  towards  the  blue  ridge 
which  marks  the  line  of  the  heights  of  Clieveden  and  Tap- 
low.  Here  in  Mr.  Grenfell's  avenue,  a  tumulus  lately 
opened  showed  a  skeleton  of  a  Norse  viking  in  his  gold- 
laden  robe  with  a  great  golden  double  clasp  set  with  six 
Oriental  carbuncles  at  the  breast,  and  there  were  light 
green-colored  glass  goblets  by  his  side. 

Farther  to  the  left  the  horizon  is  bounded  by  the  woods 
of  St.  Leonard's  Hill,  and  then  again  a  great  expanse  of 
the  Home  Park  and  the  Long  Walk  with  its  league-long 
avenue  of  elms  of  the  time  of  Charles  II.      Still  farther  on 

346 


THE   QUEEN'S   HOMES 

are  Cooper's  Hill,  and  the  flats  at  Runnymede,  where 
the  river  is  just  visible,  as  well  as  the  place  where  John 
signed  Magna  Charta.  And  then  sweeping  on  to  com- 
plete the  panorama,  and  to  get  back  to  the  point  where 
we  started,  the  meadows  near  Staines  where  the  Saxon 
kings  had  a  hunting  -  lodge,  and  then  the  flats  of  the 
Thames  valley  over  which  the  smoke  of  London  can  be 
dimly  discerned  in  the  distance;  and  again  leftwards  a 
spire,  five  miles  off,  showing  the  church  where  Gray  wrote 
his  immortal  Elegy  in  a  Country  Churchyard. 

Beneath  your  feet  j^ou  see,  Ijetween  the  river  as  it  flows 
down  from  Maidenhead  and  your  standing  -  place,  the 
roof  of  St.  George's  Chapel  and  the  towers  and  walls  of 
the  Lower  Ward — ancient  buildings  renewed,  but  rising 
from  their  old  foundations.  Facing  the  town  are  three 
great  semicircular  bastion  towers,  and  beyond,  on  the 
south  side,  Eire  the  gateway  built  by  Henry  VIIL  and  the 
row  of  towers  and  houses  in  the  Lower  Ward  opposite  to 
the  chapel,  which  are  the  headquarters  of  the  old  pen- 
sioners called  the  Knights  of  Windsor,  with  the  Lieutenant's 
Tower  and  Winchester  Tower  almost  beneath  your  feet, 
formerly  connected  by  a  fortified  wall  and  gateway,  and 
still  marking,  with  a  low  abutment,  the  separation  of  the 
Middle  Ward  from  that  where  the  clergy  had  their  head- 
quarters. 

Then,  turning  again  to  the  eastward,  to  the  more  regular 
Upper  Ward,  an  enclosure  made  by  Edward  III.  and  the 
old  place  of  jousts  and  tourneys,  is  St.  George's  Hall  on 
the  left,  and  nearest  on  the  right  the  lofty  battlement  under 
which  James  L  of  Scotland  lived  for  nearly  eighteen  years 
when  arrested  after  being  thrown  b^^-  a  storm  on  the  English 
coast  near  Newcastle.  He  was  on  his  way  to  the  French 
Court,  and  Henry  IV.  of  England  kept  him  more  as  a  guest 
than  as  a  prisoner,  the  countries  being  at  peace  at  the 
time.  It  was  from  the  window  of  this  "Devil's"  Tower 
that  he  saw,  walking  in  the  garden  of  the  dry  moat  beneath 
the  Round  Tower,  the  lady  who  afterwards  became  his 
queen,  Jane  Beaufort,  Henry's  cousin.     From  this  tower 

347 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

and  St,  George's  Hall,  in  parallel  lines,  the  buildings 
sweep  on  until  they  cross  squarely  to  complete  the  court, 
or  ward. 

Now  the  memories  become  more  recent  as  we  look  at 
them.  We  see  the  inner  side  of  the  court  lined  by  the  great 
corridor  by  which  George  IV.  so  greatly  improved  the 
comfort  of  the  palace.  The  corridor  is  the  main  street, 
so  to  speak,  whereon  all  the  rooms  in  constant  use  by  the 
Queen's  family  open,  and  is  in  itself  a  museum  of  art. 
Cabinets  contain  porcelain,  models  of  all  that  is  best  in 
the  work  of  Sevres  and  Dresden's  famous  pottery.  There 
are  also  busts  of  all  the  great  men  of  modem  history,  as 
well  as  of  members  of  the  family.  These  are  ranged  on 
each  side.  The  windows  were  draped  with  scarlet  until 
recently  changed  to  a  darker  maroon-like  color.  There 
are  pictures  by  Canaletto  and  Zuccharelli;  landscapes  by 
Loutherberg,  of  battles  and  reviews ;  portraits  by  Hogarth, 
one  a  picture  of  Garrick  and  his  wife,  and  another  of  the 
Mall  in  the  days  directly  after  the  '45 ;  others  are  by  Law- 
rence, of  Pitt  and  Sir  Walter  Scott,  and  Eldon  and  Wellesley. 
There  were  also  memorial  pictures  of  events  in  the  royal 
family,  examples  of  Wilkie,  and  many  another.  The  oc- 
casional necessity  of  waiting  in  this  corridor,  therefore, 
is  never  a  hardship,  but  always  a  luxury. 

The  Queen's  own  apartments  were  in  the  corner  of  the 
tower  facing  south  and  east.  Adjoining  these  are  the 
White  Drawing-room  and  two  large  rooms  occupying  the 
whole  of  two  of  the  great  towers  and  the  space  behind 
their  "  curtain  "  walls,  and  they  look  upon  the  east  terrace 
and  terminate  in  the  White  Dining-room.  In  this  room 
there  is  a  wonderful  silver-gilt  wine  cooler  w^hich  was 
made  for  George  IV.  after  a  model  designed  by  Flax- 
man. 

At  the  bend  in  the  great  corridor  on  the  inner  side  of 
the  quadrangle  is  the  dining-room,  or  "Oak  Room,"  which 
the  Queen  always  used  unless  the  party  was  very  large. 
It  is  ornamented  with  two  fine  Gobelin  tapestries,  a  present 
from  Louis  Philippe,  and  has  panels  of  the  Princess  of 

348 


THE    QUEEN'S    HOMES 

Wales  and  the  other  daughters-in-law,  the  pictures  being 
three-quarter  length. 

It  was  just  outside  this  room  in  the  corridor  that  the 
Queen  used  to  sit  after  dinner  and  talk  to  her  guests  when- 
ever she  did  not  go  to  the  drawing-room,  and  in  recent 
years  the  drawing-room  was  rarely  visited.  When  the 
audiences  were  over  she  would  retire  along  the  passage 
which  led  by  a  bridge  over  the  double  stair  to  her  own 
rooms,  while  all  who  had  been  the  guests  at  her  table 
would  join  the  members  of  the  household  and  others  who 
had  dined  in  the  larger  room.  Here  a  few  years  ago  a 
very  fine  picture  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  the  Duke  of 
Connaught  in  uniform  and  on  horseback,  riding  through 
the  Aldershot  country  with  a  Highland  regiment  moving 
in  line  on  the  side  of  the  picture,  was  placed.  It  is  an 
excellent  example  of  the  art  of  M.  Detaille. 

Of  all  the  great  palace  residences  of  Europe,  Windsor 
must  be  considered  the  finest.  Its  wonderful  park  and 
beautiful  neighborhood  and  splendid  situation  above  its 
historic  river,  its  nearness  to  a  mighty  city,  and  its  entire 
freedom  from  smoke  or  any  other  drawback  often  felt 
near  a  great  town,  give  it  advantages  unmatched  by  other 
well-known  palaces.  Since  the  days  when  she  used  to 
make  her  riding  excursions  in  its  park,  and  from  the  time 
of  her  great  sorrow,  the  Queen  never  enjoyed  residing  at 
it  so  much  as  she  did  her  stay  at  other  places.  For  it  is 
not  so  easy  to  get  at  once  into  private  ground,  and  she 
preferred  to  do  a  great  deal  of  her  work  out-of-doors,  liking 
thus  to  enjoy  the  coolness  of  the  air  while  busily  engaged 
in  writing.  To  this  end  she  loved  to  have  little  rooms 
prepared  at  Frogmore,  at  the  great  kitchen  garden,  and  at  a 
cottage  which  Queen  Adelaide  had  built.  In  these  work 
was  done  in  privacy,  and  the  multifarious  business  always 
coming  before  her  was  quietly  considered  and  endless 
despatches  read.  Work  began  immediately  after  breakfast 
with  the  reading  of  papers  and  documents  sent  by  Minis- 
ters, and  when  the  walk  or  drive  was  taken  at  twelve  it 
was  never  allowed  to  last  beyond  one  o'clock.     There  was 

349 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

always  an  hour  before  luncheon,  when  writing  was  again 
resumed.  This  was  never  left  off  for  very  many  hours, 
and  often  the  labor  of  correspondence  had  to  be  continued 
until  far  beyond  midnight.  During  her  walks  the  Queen 
was  always  accompanied  by  two  or  three  of  her  dogs,  for 
whom  a  charming  home  was  provided  during  the  years  of 
her  early  wedded  life.  Among  her  favorites  were  Scotch 
collies,  German  badger  hounds,  Scotch  terriers,  Russian 
sheep-dogs,  Italian  spitzes,  pugs,  and  English  terriers. 
There  "every  dog  had  his  day,"  none  were  spoiled,  and 
all  were  happy. 

The  Queen  often  worked  in  the  open  air  under  twu  fine 
ilex-trees  in  the  grounds  of  Frogmore,  not  far  from  w^here 
her  husband  and  mother  rested  in  the  fine  burial  chapels 
she  had  built.  The  Queen  had  inscribed  above  the  portal 
of  the  beautiful  mausoleum  which  she  had  built  for  the 
Prince  the  wish  that  she  might  rest  with  him  with  whom 
she  had  lived  in  such  perfect  love.  His  figure,  carved 
in  white  marble  by  Marochetti,  the  head  slightly  inclined 
on  one  side,  and  draped  in  the  flowing  Garter  robes,  had  a 
space  left  for  another  statue  on  the  gray  and  polished  stone. 
This  was  to  be  filled  by  the  beautiful  white  marble  figure 
of  the  crowned  wife,  with  her  face  turned  towards  his,  and 
sculptured  also  by  the  same  hand.  Four  great  kneeling 
angels,  with  mighty  wings,  in  bronze,  the  calm  of  whose 
countenances  expresses  well  the  peace  and  repose  of  the 
place,  completed  the  outline  of  the  monument  in  the  centre 
of  the  floor. 

The  roof,  at  a  great  height,  carried  up  from  octagonal 
walls,  is  painted  with  golden  stars.  Windows  give  a  good 
light  from  the  highest  part  of  the  building,  which  below 
has  its  inner  walls  pierced  on  four  sides  by  great  arches 
admitting  to  an  outer  corridor,  which  circles  past  square 
recesses  or  transepts,  the  ground  plan  thus  forming  a  short- 
armed,  equal-sided  cross  with  a  central  circle. 

The  painting  and  colored  marble  in  very  rich  harmony 
cover  the  interior  of  the  whole  building,  whose  outer  ap- 
pearance is  simple.     The  rounded  heads  of  the  windows 

350 


THE    FOUR    C.KNEKATIO.NS 

Taken  in  1894,  at  Wliiie  Lodge,  Richmond  Park,  on  the  occasion  of  the  baptism  nf  the 
elduMchild  of  H.R.H.  the  Duke  of  York 


THE   QUEEN'S    HOMES 

give  a  Byzantine  look,  heightened  outside  by  the  green 
of  the  copper  roof.  The  mausoleum  of  the  Duchess  of 
Kent  has  a  dome  roof  of  copper,  and  rising  on  its  pilasters, 
above  balustrated  terraces  and  steps,  has  a  very  graceful 
appearance,  while  both  mausoleums  are  entirely  surround- 
ed by  groves  of  evergreens. 

The  Queen's  seaside  property  at  Osborne  was  first  bought 
with  the  idea  of  building  upon  it  a  comparatively  small 
house  where  good  air  might  be  enjoyed,  the  navy  watched 
by  its  mistress,  and  excursions  made  to  Portsmouth  and 
Plymouth  to  take  part  in  ceremonies  in  which  the  naval 
service  was  interested.  It  was  gradually  found,  however, 
that  the  number  of  persons  to  be  entertained,  and  the 
convenience  of  the  place  for  the  exercise  of  hospitality  not 
only  to  the  officers  and  men  of  the  fleet,  but  also  to  strangers 
from  abroad,  necessitated  the  addition  of  other  rooms 
both  for  reception  and  habitation. 

The  old  house  belonging  to  the  previous  owners  was  not 
fortunately  placed,  and  was  in  bad  condition.  This  was 
pulled  down,  and  advantage  taken  of  a  wide  chine,  or 
hollow,  leading  up  from  the  bay,  to  begin  the  new  house 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  distant  from  the  shore,  command- 
ing a  charming  view  of  the  twin  slopes  falling  to  the  bay, 
and  covered  with  oak-wood  and  copse,  with  the  line  of  the 
Hants  shore  bounding  the  blue  Solent  a  few  miles  away. 
The  soil  was  chiefly  gravel,  with  a  good  deal  of  clay  in 
various  parts,  a  substance  which  made  the  embanking 
of  some  of  the  seaward  shore  a  matter  of  difficulty.  The 
chief  means  taken  to  prevent  the  sliding  of  the  banks  was 
a  thick  planting  of  maritime  pine  and  other  fir.  Quantities 
of  Lambert  pine,  and  that  known  under  the  name  of 
insignis,  and  a  multitude  of  other  ornamental  trees  and 
shrubs,  especially  arbutus,  were  planted  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Prince  Consort,  who  took  the  greatest  pleasure 
in  the  arrangement  of  the  new  buildings  and  grounds. 

Both  the  lower  and  the  upper  of  these  terraces  stretched 
from  slope  to  slope  across  the  head  of  the  chine.  They 
have  fountains,  and  above  them,  in  the  centre  of  bright 

351 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

flower-beds,  are  placed  statues  in  bronze  and  vases  to 
hold  yet  more  flowers. 

The  building  which  rose  above  these  terraces  has  two 
great  Italian  square  towers,  one  for  a  clock  and  the  other 
so  arranged  that  signallers  can  watch  the  coming  and 
the  going  of  ships,  and  have  a  view  extending  as  far 
as  the  forts  off  Portsmouth  Harbor,  eleven  miles  away. 
Between  the  towers  is  a  massive  three-story,  flat-roofed 
Italian  block,  fireproof  on  every  floor.  There  is  a  covered 
corridor  over  the  second  story  carried  up  by  an  arched 
and  open  colonnade. 

This  connected  the  main  block  with  another  separate 
building,  also  of  three  stories,  having  a  bowed  or  semi- 
circular projection  seaward.  This  was  the  portion  design- 
ed for  her  Majesty's  private  use,  and  contained  on  the 
ground  floor  dining-room,  drawing-room,  and  billiard- 
room,  the  last  two  being  in  one  apartment,  one  half  being 
set  at  right  angles  to  the  other.  The  Council  Room  for 
the  reception  of  Ministers  is  of  moderate  size  in  the  centre 
of  the  main  block.  This  main  mass  of  building  has 
behind  it  and  parallel  to  it  another  of  nearly  equal  size, 
the  westward  ends  of  both  being  connected  by  a  corridor, 
and  again  above  that  there  is  a  colonnade.  Thus,  al- 
though from  the  sea  only  one  front  appears,  the  approach 
from  the  land  side  presents  the  house  as  consisting  of 
two  sides  of  a  court-yard,  and  the  prolongation  of  one  side 
of  that  court  by  a  great  wing  rising  to  the  southeast. 

The  Queen's  own  rooms  looked  southward,  over  the 
terrace  gay  with  its  beds  of  scarlet  geraniums,  its  little 
clumps  of  shrubs,  the  fountain  with  a  kneeling  female 
figure  in  the  centre,  water  dripping  from  the  wide  granite 
basin  raised  above  the  lower  pool  into  which  it  ultimately 
fell.  Her  sitting-room  looked  straight  out  seaward,  a 
large  bow  wdndow  giving  a  view  in  all  directions  over  the 
terrace  below,  over  the  broad,  straight  gravel  walk  leading 
down  between  the  slopes,  with  its  margins  adorned  with 
standard  evergreens,  trees  cut  into  cupola-shaped  tops, 
till  it  passes  from  view  down  among  the  arbutus  and 

352 


THE    QUEEN'S    HOMES 

pine  and  other  evergreens,  which  grow  among  the  oak- 
trees,  to  the  shore  of  Osborne  Bay  beyond.  Under  these 
windows  her  Highland  pipers  played  every  morning. 

On  the  left,  the  slope  rises  to  a  plateau  bordered  at  a 
distance  of  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  yards  from  the 
house,  with  more  pines,  and  a  little  wood  called  the  Ladies' 
Wood,  on  the  margin  of  which,  looking  seaward,  was 
erected  a  fancy  cottage  which  had  served  the  Queen  as  a 
pavilion  at  the  great  Agricultural  Show  at  Windsor.  The 
level  lawn  to  the  northwest  is  bordered  on  the  left  with 
an  artificial  mound,  on  which  is  the  reservoir  supplying 
the  house,  while  beyond  are  open  fields,  the  paradise  of 
the  golf  player,  terminated  by  another  depression  which 
is  the  dividing-line  between  the  Queen's  property  and  that 
belonging  to  the  grounds  of  Norris  Castle,  whose  woods 
intercept  the  view  of  Cowes.  On  the  west  side  of  the 
house  there  is  an  avenue  of  ilex  formerly  alternated  with 
aracaria,  planted  by  the  Prince  in  a  broad  avenue  leading 
to  the  entrance  lodge  at  the  head  of  what  is  now  called 
York  Avenue,  which  descends  to  East  Cowes  and  the 
banks  of  the  Medina  River.  The  evergreen  thickets  and 
shrubberies,  and  the  fresh  look  of  the  grass  even  in  winter, 
always  draw  admiration  from  the  stranger  coming  at 
that  season  from  the  Continent;  and  indeed  it  would  be 
possible  in  the  Isle  of  Wight  to  have  evergreen  forests  of 
ilex  and  even  of  cork  trees,  and  to  procure  verdant  shades 
which,  except  in  snow  time,  would  never  betray  the  pres- 
ence of  winter. 

Another  wing  was  added  to  the  house  after  the  marriage 
of  Princess  Beatrice,  for  it  had  become  evident  that  when 
French  and  German  fleets  came,  as  they  did,  with  large 
numbers  of  officers,  there  was  no  room  large  enough 
wherein  to  entertain  them.  A  tent  of  great  size  was  at 
first  made  to  do  duty,  but,  with  our  climate,  could  not 
insure  adequate  comfort  for  the  Queen's  guests  during 
the  prevalence  of  southwest  storms,  which  are  fond  of 
exhibiting  their  power  in  the  Isle  of  Wight  even  during 
the  hot  months  of  summer. 
»  353 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

The  new  wing  possessed  a  very  fine  room,  decorated 
in  Indian  style,  with  pure  white  plaster,  and  with  teak 
wood.  The  whole  interior  arrangements  of  this  hall  were 
executed  under  the  superintendence  of  Ram  Singh,  a 
pupil  in  the  famous  school  of  art  established  under  the 
guidance  of  the  father  of  Mr.  Kipling,  who  has  obtained 
so  great  and  so  just  a  fame  as  the  singer  of  the  later  years 
of  the  empire  under  Queen  Victoria. 

It  is  pleasant  while  we  cast  the  stone  upon  the  cairn 
of  our  dear  Queen  to  look  back  upon  those  few  years  after 
Princess  Beatrice's  marriage  when  she  felt  herself  able  to 
take  more  part  in  the  little  gayeties  which  made  life  more 
cheerful  for  her.  The  various  alliances  of  her  children 
on  the  Continent  gave  her  new  interest  in  the  ever-ex- 
panding circle  of  relationships  made  by  their  settling  in 
homes  on  the  shores  of  the  Danube,  in  Roumania,  and, 
nearer,  at  Darmstadt,  or  on  the  Main,  or,  as  in  the  case 
of  Princess  Alexandra  of  Edinburgh,  married  to  the  Prince 
Hohenlohe-Langenburg,  at  Strasburg. 

The  journeys  made  to  attend  their  w^eddings,  the  re- 
newed recollections  of  the  old  German  home  life,  of  which 
she  had  heard  so  much  in  younger  days  from  Prince 
Albert,  mingled  pleasantly  for  her  with  the  continual 
round  of  duty  at  her  own  homes ;  while  the  time  spent  in 
Italy  gave  a  still  greater  change,  and  awakened  interest  in 
subjects  historical  and  political,  with  the  novelty  of  per- 
sonal knowledge  of  the  actors  in  the  life  of  Southern 
Europe,  and  of  scenes  associated  with  historical  memories 
of  the  great  ancestry  of  the  Italian  people. 

In  looking  back  upon  these  times  as  a  part  of  her  long 
life,  they  fall  on  the  mind's  eye  like  the  after-glow  which 
comes  upon  the  Alps,  for  when  sunset  has  faded  with  its 
brightest  tints  from  their  snows,  and  all  for  a  while  is 
cold  and  gray,  a  paler  but  beautiful  glow  of  rose  color 
again  lights  them  for  a  short  time  before  the  dusk  deepens 
into  night. 

At  Balmoral  she  again  attended  the  dances  held  in  the 
hall,  decorated  with  Highland  targets,  battle-axes,  and 

354 


THE    QUEEN'S    HOMES 

plaids,  and  the  heads  of  deer.  She  was  also  present  from 
time  to  time  at  the  Braemar  gatherings,  where  she  took 
keen  interest  in  the  sports. 

At  Osborne  she  incessantly  took  the  greatest  personal 
trouble,  and  showed  the  liveliest  interest,  in  the  arrange- 
ments for  the  tableaux,  or  representations,  by  the  house 
party,  of  famous  scenes  in  pictures,  Meissonier's  "  Quarrel 
Scene,"  as  well  as  some  of  Gustave  Dora's  compositions, 
being  very  successfully  rendered.  These  little  entertain- 
ments were  at  first  held  in  the  Council  Room,  but  after 
the  Indian  Hall  was  built  large  audiences  assembled 
before  a  wider  stage.  The  children  in  the  house,  as  well 
as  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  household,  became 
important  actors  and  actresses,  and  the  Queen  always 
liked  them  to  keep  on  the  dress  in  which  they  had  ap- 
peared until  the  reception  of  the  guests,  which  was  always 
concluded  with  a  supper,  was  over. 

All,  indeed,  was  the  revival  of  the  old  English  country 
life,  and  especially  at  Christmas  -  time,  when  everybody 
in  the  Queen's  employment  had  the  old-fashioned  good 
cheer.  Every  one  received  something  as  a  memorial  of 
their  gracious  mistress,  and  wherever  she  was  she  took 
care,  if  it  was  at  all  possible,  to  be  present  at  the  distri- 
bution of  her  gifts.  Sometimes  it  was  on  Christmas  Eve, 
sometimes  on  the  day  itself,  but  all  the  aged  and  infirm 
were  assembled  that  presents  might  be  made  to  them, 
and  given  by  her  own  hands. 

Then  there  were  all  the  servants  to  consider  in  the  same 
way,  and  sometimes  to  the  number  of  nearly  three  hun- 
dred if  the  Court  was  at  Windsor.  The  Queen  chose  the 
gifts  with  careful  thought  for  the  wants  of  each.  A 
lighted  tree,  with  snow  -  laden  branches,  appeared  as  a 
centre  around  wliich  the  presents  were  arranged.  These, 
however,  were  too  numerous  to  be  grouped  in  one  place, 
and  had  to  be  spread  over  long  tables.  Then  in  another 
room  another  Christmas-tree  was  placed,  where  other  sou- 
venirs awaited  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  Court. 
Thus  all  were  thought  of  and  gratified,  before  the  Queen 

355 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

allowed  herself  to  devote  time  to  family  affections,  about 
which  most  people  think  first  and  foremost  at  such  times. 

At  six  o'clock  in  the  evening  came  the  hour  when  the 
family  and  immediate  guests  staying  with  the  Queen 
were  to  have  their  turn.  A  large  room  was  reserved  for 
them,  and  they  all  entered  it  following  her  Majesty. 
There  they  saw  a  row  of  separate  tables,  each  covered 
with  a  white  cloth,  and  stretching  right  and  left  of  the 
lighted  tree,  which  was  full  of  what  used  in  those  days 
to  be  called  French  and  German  bonbons.  It  was  to 
the  tables  that  attention  was  turned,  for  each  member  of 
the  family  or  guest  had  a  separate  little  table,  and  on  this 
were  laid  out  the  remembrances  sent  from  far  and  near. 

The  Queen's  table  was  inspected  first,  and  each  of  her 
guests  or  children  pointed  out  to  her  that  which  was  his 
or  her  gift,  and  many  things  were  sent  by  persons  who 
were  absent  in  other  parts  of  England,  or  by  friends  or 
kinsfolk  abroad.  The  number  of  gifts  for  the  Queen 
and  Prince  were  always  great,  and  she  always  took  the 
keenest  pleasure  in  viewing  and  examining  those  especially 
intended  for  herself.  Then  she  would  turn,  and  make 
a  round  of  the  other  tables  on  which  the  articles  were  laid 
out,  the  name  of  the  recipient  and  donor  being  inscribed 
on  cards.  The  thanks  offered  the  Queen  for  her  con- 
tributions gave  her  as  much  pleasure  as  the  offerings 
made  to  herself.  Then,  after  a  time,  the  rest  of  the  Court 
were  invited  to  enter,  and  the  exhibition  of  the  lovely 
objects  was  generally  admired. 

Music  would  follow  the  dinner,  at  which  a  wonderful 
baron  of  beef  was  placed  on  the  side  table — not  quite  a 
whole  ox,  but  the  greater  part  of  one.  There  was  usually 
a  boar's  head  sent  from  Germany  by  the  Duke  of  Coburg 
or  some  other  relative,  and  there  was  a  mighty  pie,  the 
interior  of  which  held  I  do  not  know  how  many  woodcocks 
from  Ireland,  and  another  great  game  pie  into  whose 
mysteries  it  would  be  profane  to  inquire. 

On  Christmas  Day  itself  there  was  a  beautiful  service, 
with  the  choristers  of  St.   George's  Chapel  to  sing  the 

356 


THE   QUEEN'S   HOMES 

lovely  carols,  of  which  the  Queen  was  always  very  fond. 
Then  came  the  visit  to  the  people  who  deserved  notice, 
afterwards  the  lighted  tree,  and  a  fresh  inspection  of 
the  gifts.  Following  this  there  was  often  music,  as  when 
IVIendelssohn  came  with  his  choir  to  give  "  Athalie. "  And 
so  the  stately  cheer  went  on,  work  and  hospitality  ming- 
ling with  the  family  happiness.  As  it  was  in  the  early 
days,  so  the  customs  were  continued  as  far  as  possible; 
but,  alas !  how  many  changes,  how  many  old  faces,  came 
to  be  missing,  how  many  honored  ones  could  no  more  be 
seen!  But  there  was  an  abundance  of  young  faces, whose 
merriment  cannot  be  marred  by  any  such  thoughts.  It 
was  in  children  that  the  Queen  took  delight.  Though 
her  own  share  in  joy  might  be  small,  yet  she  watched 
w^ith  sympathy  the  enjoyment  of  all  others,  and  in  the 
observance  of  the  festival  she  kept  to  what  her  husband 
did.  This  was  always  good  in  her  eyes.  As  he  ordered 
things,  so  she  desired  that  they  might  be  fulfilled.  He 
was  no  niggard  in  anything,  and  his  wholesome  discipline 
and  the  rein  he  gave  to  pleasure  remained  the  ideal  of 
his  widow  to  the  last,  and  in  unselfish  thought  for  others 
she  found  her  best  reward. 

One  of  the  best  pleasures  we  can  have  is  to  keep  a  family 
and  its  connections  together  in  harmony  and  well-doing. 
Christmas  festivals  give  an  opportunity  to  do  this,  and  it 
was  always  the  Queen's  wish,  and  a  wish  that  found 
fulfilment  in  success,  to  make  her  family  life  an  example 
to  her  countrymen.  Her  lifetime  was,  as  far  as  she  was 
able  to  influence  it,  that  of  which  the  Christmas-tree  may 
be  thought  to  be  a  symbol — namely,  stanch  and  strong 
and  bright  with  lights  to  gladden  the  grateful  faces  of 
children  and  children's  children  fonning  the  familj'  circle 
around  the  Christmas-tree  at  Windsor  or  at  Osborne. 

Returning  for  a  moment  to  our  description  of  the  Queen's 
seaside  home,  we  note  that  southeastward  of  Osborne, 
with  its  appurtenances  and  offices  and  outhouses  beyond, 
further  belts  of  oak  and  Scotch  fir  form  a  plantation  de- 
signed to  show  the  mildness  of  the  climate.     These  are 

357 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

close  to  an  ancient  Elizabethan  abode.  In  the  days  of 
the  Tudors  it  belonged  to  the  Bishopric  of  Winchester, 
and  is  called  Barton.  The  acquisition  of  this  was  a  very 
necessary  addition  to  the  Osborne  estate,  lying  as  it  did 
ahnost  within  the  grounds,  and  its  possession  enabled 
the  house  party  to  have  excellent  skating  in  hard  winters 
on  a  piece  of  water  in  an  orchard-clad  little  valley. 

The  Queen  could  be  seen  almost  every  afternoon  be- 
tween half-past  three  and  five  o'clock  driving  in  an  open 
carriage  drawn  by  her  gray  horses,  and  preceded  by  an 
outrider,  and  accompanied  by  an  equerry  or  two  on  horse- 
back, visiting  Newport,  Ryde,  and  the  various  places  in 
the  neighborhood.  Previous  to  this,  in  the  morning  she 
always  took  a  walk  between  twelve  and  one  accompanied 
by  some  of  the  family,  and  followed  by  two  servants. 
Very  often  she  visited  the  families  of  those  in  her  service, 
or  inspected  her  home  farm,  which  is  close  to  Barton. 
Or,  again,  she  would  spend  a  little  time  either  in  the  morn- 
ing or  in  the  evening  at  a  favorite  place  not  far  from  the 
old  bishop's  dwelling,  where  a  house,  in  the  likeness  of 
a  Swiss  cottage,  with  projecting  eaves  and  a  gallery  run- 
ning round  above  the  ground  floor,  had  been  made  into 
a  little  museum  of  curiosities,  collected  by  herself  and 
by  the  Prince,  or  by  her  children — a  collection  which 
became  in  time  so  large  that  another  ornamental  wooden 
building  had  to  be  erected  so  that  they  might  be  better 
seen.  They  comprised  objects  from  all  lands,  collected 
during  the  visits  of  the  Princes  to  the  Colonies  and  foreign 
shores,  and  they  made  this  building  a  little  school  of  his- 
tory, archaeology,  and  zoology. 

The  excellence  of  the  houses  the  Queen  built  on  her 
estate  to  insure  the  comfort  of  everybody  in  her  employ- 
ment was  one  of  the  first  cares  of  herself  and  the  Prince. 
Her  people  were,  indeed,  well  housed  before  she  herself 
had  entirely  finished  her  own  dwelling.  It  was  always 
her  aim  and  object  that  every  one,  from  the  laborer  to 
the  head  of  some  estate  department,  should  be  well  cared 
for  while  in  her  service. 

358 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE    PASSING    OF    THE    QUEEN 

Though  Christian  faith  may  comfort  sorrow,  a  funeral 
is  always  inexpressibly  sad  in  the  solemn  journey  to  the 
tomb  with  one  whom  we  have  loved,  and  whose  soul  we 
would  fain  believe  has  gone  to  await  in  peace  the  eternal 
enjoyment  of  our  Creator's  presence.  There  is  so  great  a 
shrinking  from  the  recollection  of  the  parting  we  have 
witnessed  between  body  and  spirit,  there  is  so  keen  a 
pain,  that  we  would  resent  all  intrusion  and  would  wish 
to  endure  our  grief  alone.  But  when  that  grief  is  shared 
by  many,  and  the  respect  and  love  we  bore  to  the  dead 
has  been  felt  also  by  all  our  countrymen,  we  must  bear 
not  only  with  acquiescence  but  with  pride  the  knowledge 
that  the  public  feel  our  loss  to  be  theirs  as  well.  Sorrow, 
like  love,  may  be  inclined  to  be  selfish,  but  it  may  be  good 
that  in  loving  a  great  life  we  should  throw  open  wide  the 
doors  of  the  house  of  mourning,  and  seek  to  feel  some 
solace  in  the  thought  that  we  are  not  alone  in  our  judg- 
ment of  the  dead.  Still,  for  us  the  blank  may  be  a  loss, 
telling  each  day  on  the  relations  of  life,  while  with  the 
stranger  it  must  be  only  an  incident  like  others  in  his 
existence. 

Such  thoughts  may  have  moved  those  who  gathered 
in  the  Queen's  beautiful  home  in  the  Isle  of  Wight  after 
her  death.  All  who  had  served  her  in  recent  years,  all 
who  had  known  her  go  out  and  in  among  them,  who  had 
dwelt  on  her  land,  the  cottagers  who  worked  her  fields, 
the  men  who  attended  to  her  daily  wants,  the  women 
and  servants  whom  she  treated  so  well,  who  had  become 
friends  as  well  as  attendants — these  all  mourned  with  a 

359 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

bitter  mourning.  The  Duchess  of  Cleveland  wrote  that 
she,  her  bridesmaid,  hoped  to  have  gone  before  her,  and 
grieved  to  be  her  survivor.  The  Ministers  who  had  served 
her  in  both  parties  in  the  State  received  the  news,  which 
seemed  to  come  so  suddenly  and  so  strangely,  as  the 
announcement  of  an  event  which  struck,  as  with  a  per- 
sonal blow,  the  sense  of  each.  For  so  long  a  time  had 
Britain's  Queen  been  the  head  and  representative  of  the 
great  Imperial  State  they  served,  that  it  appeared  unreal 
that  there  could  be  so  great  a  change  in  what  had  en- 
dured for  so  long  past  the  memory  of  all  men  concerned 
in  public  affairs.  She,  through  whose  hands  all  great 
affairs  had  passed;  she,  who,  ever  loyal  to  the  unwritten 
Constitution,  had  made  that  Constitution  more  defined 
than  many  that  are  written  by  her  life-long  usage  and 
practice  and  example;  she,  who  had  never  shrunk  from 
the  daily  task  of  learning  the  movements  in  public  feeling, 
and  the  measures  by  which  her  Ministers  proposed  to 
meet  the  needs  of  the  hour;  she,  who  had  ever  given  advice 
w^hen  desired,  or  when  she  deemed  it  her  duty  to  do  so, 
with  an  unwavering  sagacity,  with  the  advantage  of  a 
memory  tenacious  and  stored  through  the  valuable  lessons 
of  experience;  she,  whose  judgment  had  ripened  with 
the  long  years,  and  whose  way  of  conveying  her  opinion 
had  never  lacked  in  tact  or  knowledge  of  men — the  wom- 
an who  was  sovereign,  and  as  sovereign  was  thorough 
woman,  could  now  no  more  be  heard  or  seen.  Her  place 
was  void  in  the  centre  of  her  Empire.  Her  dominions, 
commonwealths,  her  States  and  provinces  over  sea,  would 
know  that  the  mother  of  those  who  loved  to  live  under 
the  triple  crosses  of  her  flag  had  been  lost  to  them.  No 
such  natural  death,  occumng  at  so  great  an  age,  could 
have  in  past  times  awakened  such  sorrow  as  that  now 
honestly  and  heartily  expressed.  It  was  because  through 
all  lands  the  very  greatness  of  her  people,  their  very  free- 
dom from  all  undue  restraint,  had  made  her  life  better 
known  to  them  than  that  of  many  of  their  own  relatives, 
that  the  news,  "The  Queen  is  dead,"  seemed  so  unreal. 

360 


THE    PASSING    OF   THE    QUEEN 

There  had  also  been  so  Httle  warning  even  for  those 
nearest  to  her.  "Some  httle  wildering  of  a  tired  brain" 
had  been  marked  with  anxiety,  but  hope  always  came  to 
restore  confidence  in  the  strength  of  heart  which  had 
beat  on  so  regidarly  that  passing  ailments  had  gone,  to 
leave  little  trace  of  their  passage.  There  had  been  mo- 
ments of  depression  during  the  last  stay  at  Balmoral; 
the  weather  had  been  cold  and  gray  and  heavy,  and  the 
Queen  had  not  been  able  to  enjoy  her  stay  as  usual.  She 
had  felt  unwell  after  her  return  to  Windsor,  where  the 
very  size  and  stateliness  of  the  Castle  appeared  to  oppress 
her,  and  she  felt  the  burden  of  having  to  talk  to  many 
visitors. 

Yet  all  was  still  done  with  that  unfaltering  courage 
which  could  not  yield  to  any  weakness.  But  the  hours 
were  at  last  not  so  punctually  observed.  There  was 
increasing  uncertainty  as  to  whether  the  Queen  would 
appear  at  lunch  or  dinner.  She  was  told  by  the  doctors 
that  she  must  consent  to  consider  how  to  save  her  strength, 
and  that  for  a  while  she  ought  to  lead  the  life  of  an  invalid. 
She  must  not  write  so  much,  she  must  do  nothing  to  bring 
on  unnecessary  fatigue.  For  the  first  time  she  did  not 
write  herself  the  good  wishes  for  Christmas  and  New 
Year  which  she  was  wont  to  send  to  each  member  of  her 
family.  The  despatches  were  all  read  to  her.  She  was 
resolved  not  to  abstain  from  inviting  those  who  ought  to 
have  an  interview  on  any  pubHc  business.  They  came, 
and  there  was  nothing  in  her  speech  that  betrayed  any 
change.  It  was  observed  that  her  eyesight  had  become 
very  dim,  but  she  heard  all  that  was  said,  and  answered 
promptly  with  all  the  old  kindness  and  judgment  and 
gentleness. 

Instead  of  holding  her  after-dinner  talk  with  her  guests 
in  the  corridor  outside  the  Oak  Dining-room,  she  was 
wheeled  in  her  chair  to  the  White  Drawing-room,  and 
sat  there  near  the  table  to  listen  to  any  music  played  on 
the  piano,  or  to  call  up  those  she  desired  to  speak  to.  All 
this  was  as  before.     The  time  at  which  she  retired  was  the 

361 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

same,  and  when  the  day  fixed  for  the  departure  to  Osborne 
arrived,  those  who  had  been  told  by  the  Scotch  servants 
and  others,  who  had  watched  her  at  Balmoral,  that  she 
was  "failing,"  were  glad  to  see  the  smile  still  upon  her 
face  as  they  took  leave  of  her.  When  she  entered  her 
carriage  only  a  few  said  to  themselves  they  feared  it  might 
be  the  last  time.  A  gangway  was  arranged  at  the  car- 
riage porch  under  the  Oak  Room  for  her  to  walk  with  the 
help  of  the  arm  of  her  Indian  scarlet-robed  servant  to 
her  seat,  and  have  the  plaids  "happed"  around  her  by 
the  Highlanders,  and  be  driven  to  the  station  by  the  gray 
horses.     That  was  her  passing  from  Windsor. 

The  journey  to  the  Isle  of  Wight  fatigued  her  greatly, 
although,  as  a  rule,  railway  travelling  did  not  affect  her. 
Yet,  again,  at  Osborne  she  saw  Lord  Roberts  twice,  and 
nothing  in  manner,  look,  or  conversation  betrayed  the 
failing  power  of  the  brain.  Indeed,  any  failure  of  memory 
was  only  noticed  momentarily  by  those  who  were  with 
her  until  the  last  few  days  of  her  life.  Then,  on  one  sad 
morning,  there  was  serious  alarm,  for  there  was  a  thicken- 
ing of  speech  and  loss  of  power,  and  the  Prince  of  Wales 
left  London,  on  a  message  being  sent,  and,  hurriedly  cross- 
ing to  Osborne,  found  that  Sir  James  Reid,  the  Queen's 
able  and  devoted  physician,  was  very  anxious.  Other 
members  of  the  family  were  sent  for,  until  the  house  was 
full  of  sorrowful  watchers,  and  Sir  James  Reid  and  Sir 
Douglas  Powell,  famous  for  his  skill,  could  give  no  com- 
fort. The  Queen  recognized  her  children,  naming  them 
each,  and  they  were  with  her  to  the  end. 

Her  eldest  grandson,  the  German  Emperor,  left  Berlin 
as  soon  as  the  bad  news  reached  him,  and  hurried  to  Os- 
borne. The  Duke  of  Connaught  had  been  with  him  at 
the  German  Imperial  capital,  where  the  two  hundredth 
year  of  the  existence  of  the  Prussian  monarchy  was  being 
celebrated  with  magnificent  pomp  and  circumstance. 
The  great  pageants  by  which  the  German  people  are  wise 
enough  to  commemorate  the  events  affecting  their  na- 
tional  existence — thereby   giving   lessons   in   patriotism 

362 


THE   PASSING   OF   THE    QUEEN 

and  expressing  a  just  pride  in  the  heroic  deeds  of  ancestors 
to  the  youth  of  their  country — were  in  full  progress.  The 
festivities  of  State  were  following  each  other  in  splendid 
succession.  The  Emperor  commanded  they  should  cease, 
for  his  sorrow  was  also  the  sorrow  of  his  nation.  He 
broke  off  all  the  gorgeous  ceremonies,  and  left  instantly 
with  his  uncle  to  attend  our  sovereign  in  her  illness.  The 
English  people,  as  well  as  his  own  countrymen,  felt  to 
their  hearts'  core  the  love  and  sympathy  he  thus  vshowed. 
If  one  touch  of  nature  makes  the  whole  world  kin,  it  is 
doubly  thus  when  the  kindred  Teutonic  races  see  the 
holy  bonds  of  family  love  revered,  honored,  and  observed. 

The  Emperor  was  with  the  Queen  to  the  last,  and,  despite 
his  own  great  cares,  remained  with  her  and  his  English 
relatives  until  the  final  scene  at  Frogmore  Mausoleum 
was  over.  He  sent  also  for  his  eldest  son,  the  Crown 
Prince,  and  for  his  brother.  Prince  Henry,  who  came 
with  a  German  squadron  to  take  part  in  the  last  sad  cere- 
mony. Queen  Victoria  died,  with  many  of  her  children 
and  grandchildren  around  her,  at  6.35  in  the  evening  of 
January  22,  1901. 

With  the  commencement  of  a  new  reign,  cares  of  State 
came  forthwith  upon  her  successor.  It  was  necessary 
for  King  Edward  VII.  to  leave  early  the  next  morning  for 
London  to  meet  his  Privy  Council,  and  formally  take  over 
the  inheritance  that  had  come  to  him.  He  had  to  prove 
at  once  the  resolve  to  tread  in  his  mother's  footsteps,  to 
leave  no  task  of  sovereignty  undone,  whether  of  ceremonial 
or  of  those  duties  and  labors  of  which  ceremonial  marks 
the  culmination  and  stamps  with  the  State's  approval 
the  result  of  service  rendered  to  the  realm.  The  fine  feat- 
ures, the  gray  hair,  the  head  that  had  always  thought 
and  wrought  for  the  nation,  lay  with  a  bridal  veil  and  a 
widow's  cap,  like  a  piece  of  beautiful  carved  ivory,  on 
the  bed  which  was  now  no  longer  one  of  struggle  and  of 
pain.  "  Her  body  rests  in  peace,  her  soul  lives  for  ever- 
more." 

The  functions  of  monarchy  had  to  be  fulfilled,  as  she 

363 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

would  have  wished.  In  London  the  train  carrying  the 
new  monarch  was  awaited  by  dense  crowds  in  black,  who 
silently  filled  the  sides  of  the  roadway  between  Victoria 
station  and  Buckingham  Palace.  At  St.  James's  Palace 
the  next  morning,  the  Privy  Councillors,  to  the  number  of 
over  a  hundred,  had  already  assembled,  wearing  uniform. 
There  also,  according  to  usage,  were  the  Lord  Mayor  and 
his  Councillors.  The  King  entering,  forthwith  delivered 
his  touching  speech,  saying  that  he  desired  his  title  to  be 
Edward  VII.,  leaving  the  name  of  Albert  to  be  borne  alone 
by  his  father  in  history,  who  had  been  so  justly  named 
"Albert  the  Good."  The  oath  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
Presbyterian  religion  in  Scotland  was  taken  with  hand 
uplifted  according  to  Northern  custom,  and  then  one  by 
one  the  Privy  Councillors  knelt  and  kissed  hands,  after 
taking  the  oath  of  allegiance. 

Then,  when  the  assembly  had  dispersed,  all  arrange- 
ments had  to  be  made  for  the  bringing  of  the  Queen  to 
the  place  of  her  last  rest,  and  much  had  at  once  to  be  ar- 
ranged. Already  it  was  known  that  the  Kings  of  the 
Belgians,  of  Portugal,  and  of  Greece,  the  heirs  to  the 
thrones  of  Russia  and  Demnark,  and  Italy  and  Germany, 
with  many  other  princes  and  representatives  of  foreign 
powers,  would  come  to  show  the  veneration  in  which 
the  memory  was  held  of  her  who  had  now  gone  to  her 
home,  as  the  Germans  beautifully  express,  in  one  word, 
their  faith  that  the  dead  only  depart  homeward. 

The  mournful  ceremonies  had  necessarily  to  extend 
over  three  days.  The  first  stage,  from  Osborne  to  Ports- 
mouth, gave  the  navy  an  opportunity  of  rendering  the 
last  honors;  then,  secondly,  the  procession  through  Lon- 
don, where  the  army  could  line  the  path,  roads,  and  streets 
through  which  the  funeral  cortege  should  pass,  and  then 
the  Windsor  Church  service;  and  on  the  final  day  the 
placing  of  the  Queen  in  the  tomb  at  Frogmore. 

All  was  splendidly  achieved  in  the  given  time,  and 
before  the  end  of  the  first  week  in  February  the  visitors 
from  the  Continent  were  able  to  return,  their  mission  being 

364 


THE    PASSING    OF    THE    QUEEN 

fulfilled.  Nothing  could  have  been  more  in  consonance 
with  the  desire  of  the  Queen  that  the  feelings  of  her  people 
should  be  considered  and  deferred  to  than  the  manner 
in  which  the  obsequies  were  carried  out.  There  was  first  a 
quiet  assembling  of  her  own  kinsfolk  and  servants  at  her 
own  home.  The  latter  part  of  the  first  day  was  the  time 
for  the  naval  display;  the  morning  of  the  second  that  for 
the  army  in  London. 

She  had  always  a  dislike  to  the  black  trappings  com- 
monly used,  and  desired  that  black  should  be  avoided  as 
far  as  possible  in  the  hangings  and  appurtenances  used 
at  her  funeral,  preferring  purple  and  white  before  these, 
and  even  that  black  horses  should  be  dispensed  with. 
As  in  the  case  of  the  King  of  Italy,  who  went  to  his  grave 
coffined  in  white  and  gold  only  a  few  short  months  before 
in  Rome,  so  was  our  Queen  also  to  be  buried.  In  white 
she  was  borne  from  her  dwelling,  while  the  bright  color  of 
her  standard  and  the  crown  and  the  two  orbs,  belonging 
from  of  old  to  her  sovereign  office,  shone  as  they  lay  upon 
the  crimson,  blue  and  gold,  and  white  of  Britain's  Imperial 
banner. 

At  Osborne,  with  the  great  candelabra  around  her,  and 
her  faithful  servants  and  soldiers  keeping  watch  and 
ward,  she  lay  in  the  room  where  she  had  seen  her  daughter 
Princess  Alice  married.  Now  the  pictures  were  covered, 
and  the  room  transformed  into  the  likeness  of  a  chapel. 
The  paintings  displayed  were  on  the  subject  of  the  life  of 
our  Lord,  and  the  furniture  and  ornaments  necessary  in 
this  chapel  were  gifts  from  the  Empress  Frederick  and 
others  of  her  loving  children. 

So  she  lay  until  the  day  came  for  the  last  journey  of 
her  mortal  body.  The  winter's  sun  shone  brightly  as 
the  mourners  formed  up  behind  the  gun-carriage  which 
had  been  driven  by  the  artillerymen  under  the  portico 
where  she  had  so  lately  gone  forth  for  her  drives  about  the 
island.  The  princes  in  uniform,  the  princesses  walking 
behind  them,  and  all  on  foot,  passed  from  the  door  opening 
on  that  court  which  the  Queen  had  enclosed  on  three  sides 

365 


VICTORIA  R.  I.     HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

by  the  Italian  architecture  of  her  home,  out  to  the  long 
avenue  of  ilex  which  she  had  planted,  and  the  boughs  of 
which  now  all  but  meet  above  the  broad  roadway  to  the 
entrance  gates.  Thence  down  the  hill  to  the  red-roofed 
town  and  to  the  banks  of  the  Medina,  and  so  on  board 
her  little  yacht,  the  Alberta,  which  she  had  used  so  often 
in  crossing  from  and  to  the  mainland,  or  for  a  brief  after- 
noon cruise  in  the  hot  summer  days. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  river  was  the  guard-ship,  the  Aus- 
tralia, which  was  to  give  the  signal  for  the  fleet's  salute. 
There,  stretched  away  to  the  eastward  from  that  guard- 
ship,  the  magnificent  array  of  battle-ships  and  cruisers 
lay  upon  the  waters  to  the  distant  horizon  off  Portsmouth. 
For  leagues  along  the  gray  wintry  waters  the  line  of  the 
British  fleet  was  visible,  and  far  off,  near  Ryde,  could  be 
seen  other  war-ships,  apart  from  the  regular  rank  of  the 
floating  forts  that  lay  so  low  and  so  darkly  on  the  silver 
tide.  These  others  were  the  ships  of  the  Germans,  and 
yet  another  powerful  vessel  under  the  command  of  a  gal- 
lant French  admiral.  And  then,  near  the  Medina,  as  the 
Alberta  steamed  slowly  away  from  her  pier,  were  a  num- 
ber of  sharp,  low-hidled,  black  vessels,  the  destroyers — the 
advance  guard  to  the  yacht  of  the  Queen  of  the  Sea — which 
slowly  glided  from  the  estuary  into  the  broader  waters  of 
the  Solent.  The  long,  low  destroyers  formed  in  proces- 
sional order  before  it.  Then  from  the  guard-ship  broke 
fire  and  smoke  at  the  cannon's  mouth,  and  loudly,  near 
at  hand  and  lessening  in  volume  of  sound  as  the  salute 
proceeded,  came  the  flash  and  report  from  one  ship  after 
another  along  that  line  of  eleven  miles,  the  minute-guns 
answering  from  ironside  to  ironside,  and  then  flashing 
and  rolling  forth  again  their  thunder  from  the  west  to  the 
east  in  continuous  shocks  of  sound. 

And  the  black  hulls  in  advance  sped  slowly  on  down 
the  mighty  line,  and  the  silver  and  gray  of  the  sea  was 
clouded  with  the  smoke,  which,  drifting  in  a  haze  that 
became  golden  as  the  sun  declined,  was  brightened  by 
stronger  light  near  Portsmouth,  whose  people,  in  dense, 

366 


THE   PASSING   OF   THE    QUEEN 

black,  silent  masses,  fringed  all  the  shore.  They  saw 
the  dark  advance  guard  of  the  flotilla  coming  through  the 
haze.  They  then  made  out  the  little  yacht  with  its  bright 
standard,  ahead  of  the  two  larger  vessels,  the  Osborne 
and  the  Victoria  and  Albert,  which  in  turn  were  ahead 
of  the  great  gray  Hohenzollern,  the  floating  palace  of  the 
German  Emperor. 

All  glided  slowly  into  harbor,  passing  Nelson's  old 
flag-ship,  the  Victory,  while  the  gleam  of  evening  light 
remained  for  a  time  bright  and  clear.  In  the  harbor  that 
night  the  yacht  flotilla  remained,  waiting  for  the  morn- 
ing, when  the  railway  journey  began,  and  London  was 
reached — London  with  all  her  people  waiting  along  street 
and  park  and  station — every  man  bareheaded  and  every 
woman  with  some  mark  of  mourning.  The  silence  seemed 
as  though  one  were  looking  at  dumb  masses  through 
a  glass  that  prevented  sound  from  coming  to  the  ears. 
Here,  past  the  ranks  of  troops  in  great  coats,  fringing 
the  roadway  which  they  kept  clear,  the  King,  the  German 
Emperor,  the  princes,  and  others  rode,  cloaked  and  plumed, 
carriages  conveying  the  princesses,  while  officers  of  the 
household  and  others  marched  on  foot.  No  disorder 
took  place,  but  the  pressure  of  the  crowd  was  so  great 
that  the  heavy  iron  railings  of  the  park  gave  way  before  it. 

Only  two  trains  left  the  Great  Western  station  for  Wind- 
sor. One  was  filled  by  the  ambassadors  and  other  visitors ; 
and  soon  afterwards  the  second  was  seen  by  those  who 
watched  from  the  walls  of  Windsor  Castle  to  traverse 
the  sinuous  course  of  the  viaduct  and  bridge  over  the 
Thames.  This  was  the  train  that  included  among  its 
cars  the  Queen's  own  travelling  carriage,  which  had  been 
made  with  a  wide  door  to  allow  her  chair  to  enter  during 
those  last  years  when  she  could  not  go  far  on  foot.  Alas ! 
now  the  width  of  the  entrance  had  made  it  to  be  the  chosen 
vehicle  for  the  crimson,  blue,  and  white  draped  coffin. 

As  soon  as  this  had  been  carried  to  the  gun-carriage  at 
Windsor,  the  gunner's  horses  became  restive,  owing  to 
the  long  wait  they  had  endured  in  the  cold,  and  the  guard 

367 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER   LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

of  honor  of  bluejackets  seized  their  chance  to  render  a 
last  service  by  assisting  the  gunners  to  unharness  the 
horses,  and  by  putting  themselves  in  the  place  of  the  team. 
The  change  was  made  with  marvellous  quickness  and 
silence,  and  the  band  of  straw  hats  and  white  shirts,  with 
the  broad,  blue,  falling  collars,  drew  the  heavy  burden 
with  ease  and  certainty  up  the  ascent  to  the  road  bordering 
the  ancient  fosse,  below  the  walls  reared  by  Henry  III., 
then  down  the  street  to  the  beginning  of  the  Long  Walk, 
and  so  up  to  that  last  bit  of  the  great  three-mile-long 
avenue,  traversing  its  last  and  most  open  section  from  the 
gate  to  the  Castle  grounds,  up  to  the  archway  between  the 
York  and  the  Lancaster  towers,  through  the  Upper  Ward, 
and  then,  passing  the  Norman  gateway,  down  the  Lower 
Ward  to  the  west  door  of  the  great  Chapel  of  St.  George. 

Except  within  the  Castle,  where  troops  only  were  allowed 
to  be  stationed,  there  were  many  people  assembled.  These 
had  thronged  all  the  day  before  to  see  the  thousands  of 
beautiful  wreaths  of  flowers  sent  in  token  of  sorrow  to 
be  laid  near  the  Queen.  Their  blossoms  filled  all  the 
cloisters  and  all  the  grass  space  enclosed  by  the  cloisters. 
They  made  the  whole  of  this  plot  of  ground  one  bright 
garden  bed  of  bloom ;  they  lined  all  the  base  of  the  outside 
walls  of  the  church,  and  were  piled  in  beautiful  profusion 
within  the  Wolsey  Chapel. 

Within  St.  George's  the  mass  of  the  congregation  was 
confined  to  the  nave.  The  invited  visitors  were  in  the 
chancel,  the  mourners  marching  in  the  procession  filled 
the  choir  as  they  followed  the  dead,  and  streamed  in  their 
bright  uniforms,  filling  the  central  space  with  color — for 
their  great- coats  had  been  laid  aside — as  they  passed 
into  the  candle-lit  shadows  of  the  church. 

Here  glorious  music,  beloved  by  the  Queen,  rose  from 
organ  and  choristers.  The  white  coffin,  with  its  gleaming 
crown  and  orbs,  and  with  the  beautiful  colorings  of  the 
silk  standard  covering  it  as  a  pall,  was  lifted  on  to  the 
bier  above  the  throng  standing  around  it  in  their  black 
and  scarlet  and  gold.     The  words  of  hope  and  peace  and 

368 


THE    PASSING   OF   THE   QUEEN 

faith  of  the  burial  service  were  said ;  the  herald  proclaimed 
the  departure  of  one  mighty  sovereign  and  the  accession 
of  King  Edward  VII.,  and  then  gradually  the  mourners 
left,  and  the  banners  in  gorgeous  array  above  the  dark 
carved  pinnacles  of  the  chancel  walls  drooped  alone  over 
the  Guardsmen,  who,  in  their  bearskins  and  with  arms 
reversed,  remained  to  watch  over  the  dead. 

Guests  and  representatives  of  foreign  powers  passed 
away  to  the  Castle  above  or,  returning  through  the  gate 
of  Henry  VIII.,  in  some  instances  went  direct  to  London, 
and  so  over  sea.  Only  the  family  remained  in  the  Castle 
for  the  last  rites  on  the  morrow.  On  that  last  morning 
of  this  sad  pilgrimage,  one  of  those  tales  which,  even  if 
fanciful,  possess  a  certain  poetry,  from  the  sentiment 
that  gives  birth  to  the  idea,  was  heard  to  the  effect  that  a 
child  had  noticed  two  gray  doves  fly  out  from  St.  George's 
archway  to  wing  their  way  slowly  in  advance  of  the  pro- 
cession to  the  grounds  to  which  the  mourners  were  setting 
out.  It  revived  in  some  the  memory  of  the  old  belief  that 
the  dove,  taking  its  place  near  the  window  of  the  dying, 
was  the  embodiment  of  another  soul  waiting  to  receive 
the  one  about  to  join  it. 

Yet  another  fancy  was  heard  that  day.  In  far-off 
South  Africa  a  Zulu  chief,  on  hearing  of  the  death  of  the 
great  White  Queen,  said,  with  a  simple  sorrow:  "Then 
I  shall  see  another  star  in  the  sky." 

Now,  again  on  a  gun-carriage,  this  time  horsed  by  bays, 
the  artillery  team  proudly  and  quietly  took  their  burden, 
and,  followed  by  the  family  and  those  allied  to  her  by 
marriage,  the  Queen  was  again  taken  through  her  ancient 
fortress.  This  time  it  was  down  the  descent  towards 
the  forest,  and  all  those  connected  with  Windsor  were 
allowed  to  line  the  roadway,  the  Life  Guards,  in  their  long 
crimson  cloaks,  keeping  clear  the  route.  At  the  foot  of 
the  slope,  the  Guards  relieved  these,  and  the  train  of  cloaked 
figures  turned  into  the  Frogmore  road,  which  was  kept 
private,  save  for  the  soldiers  still  forming  a  living  avenue. 
The  pipers  blew  their  lament  in  front,  muffled  drums 
»A  369 


VICTORIA  R.  I.    HER  LIFE  AND  EMPIRE 

rolled  out  plaintive  notes  of  subdued  sorrow,  and  the 
bands  relieved  them  at  intervals ;  and  so,  with  lamentation 
and  solemn  dignity,  her  children  and  grandchildren  and 
great-grandchildren  following  her,  our  dear  Queen  was 
brought  to  where  she  would  be  at  rest  beside  her  Prince. 
In  the  tomb,  sunk  into  the  gray  granite  sarcophagus, 
his  coffin  was  seen,  and  upon  it  lay  the  sword  that  he  wore. 
Her  own  was  lifted,  and  then  slowly  lowered  by  her  faithful 
Life  Guards  until  it  lay  by  his.  For  thirty-nine  years 
the  loving  spirits  had  been  separated.  How  long  it  seems, 
and  yet  what  an  unfelt  moment  in  the  being  of  the  Eternal  I 

"Death's  Angel  to  the  Island  went 
And  took  Her  from  the  Throne, 
But  not  from  place  pre-eminent 
Within  our  hearts  by  sorrow  rent, 
Yet  proud  one  love  to  own. 

"The  love  to  Her  who,  now  at  rest. 
Is  mourned  Her  Empire  through; 
Whom  men  of  alien  nations  blessed. 
Whose  love  the  poor  and  the  distressed 
Could  tell  was  quick  and  true. 

"  For  over  sixty  years  Her  reign 
Had  been  so  full  of  good. 
No  honest  homage  sounded  vain, 
No  prayers  that  Time  might  long  retain 
Her  Empress  widowhood. 

"We  took  Her  silent  form  to  glide 
Where  reached  from  shore  to  shore 
Her  glorious  Fleet.     Each  war-ship's  side 
Rang,  mile  on  mile,  above  the  tide. 
The  Queen's  salute  once  more! 

"And  through  Her  city,  mightiest, 
Her  Army  stood,  where  rode 
Her  kindred  monarchs,  and  the  best 
Of  those  whose  warring  could  attest 
Where  honor  brightest  glowed. 
370 


THE    PASSING   OF   THE   QUEEN 

"  We  brought  Her  to  where  Windsor  shows 
Her  church,  her  walls,  her  tower; 
A  dream  in  stone,  whose  river  flows 
Beneath  fair  wooded  slopes,  and  knows 
The  secret  of  Her  power. 

"The  power  of  love  was  Hers  that  strives 

Through  holiest  charity. 
The  need  supremest  in  our  lives. 
That  through  the  might  of  God  deprives 

The  grave  of  victory! 

"Then  last  we  laid  Her  down,  where  love 
With  her  dear  Prince  had  been. 
And  prayed  our  earthly  love  may  prove 
A  splendor  caught  from  God  above. 
Like  Hers,  who  reigned  our  Queen!" 


INDEX 


Abdul  Azziz,  273. 

Aberdeen,  Lord,  124,  172,  217, 
219. 

Adelaide,  Queen,  20,  41,  45,  67, 
108. 

Africa,  South,  298;  war  in,  335, 
336,    338. 

Albert,  Prince  Consort,  birth  of, 
18;  infancy  of,  21;  his  mes- 
sage to  Princess  Victoria,  41 ; 
his  first  visit,  50,  51  ;  his  second 
visit,  100-108 ;  his  letter  to 
Stockmar,  105,  106 ;  views  on 
his  marriage,  107,  108;  his 
precedence  and  household,  1 10  ; 
his  allowance,  no;  his  mar- 
riage, Ill-ll5;in  robes  of  the 
Garter,  113;  his  attitude  tow- 
ards State  affairs,  117  ;  accident 
to,  119;  at  the  meeting  of  the 
Palace  of  Westminster  Commis- 
sion. 124-126;  as  Edward  III., 
137 ;  as  a  musician,  135  ;  his 
daily  life,  139,  140  ;  death  of  his 
father,  150 ;  Louis  Philippe's 
opinion  of  him,  164,  165 ;  his 
birthplace,  171  ;  as  Chancellor 
of  Cambridge  University,  192 ; 
inaugurates  the  Great  Ex- 
hibition, 203  -  210 ;  proposes 
changes  in  army,  224 ;  vindi- 
cated, 231,  232;  \asits  Paris, 
236-238;  entitled  Prince  Con- 
sort, 238 ;  his  letter  to  Princess 
Royal,  250 ;  his  illness  and 
death,  254-260  ;  anniversary  of 
his  death,  262 ;  statue  of,  272; 
Queen's  reference  to,   317. 

Albert  Edward,  Prince  of  Wales 
(King  Edward  the  Seventh), 
birth  of,  126 ;  christening  of, 
127,  161  ;  Earl  of  Dublin,  202 ; 


visits  Paris,  236 ;  visits  Pales- 
tine, 264-271 ;  marriage  of,  271  ; 
at  public  functions,  274 ;  his 
wedding-gift  and  recovery  from 
illness,  278;  at  St.  Petesburg, 
283 ;  visits  India,  292-297 ;  at 
opening  of  Law  Courts,  305 ; 
on  housing  of  working-classes, 
308 ;  with  brothers,  316,  329 ; 
accession  of,  363,  364. 
Albert    Victor,   Prince,  death   of, 

327- 

Alexander  II.,  Tsar,  282-286; 
visits  England,  289,  290. 

Alexandra,  Princess  of  Wales 
(her  Majesty  the  Queen),  271  ; 
attends  public  functions,  274  ; 
with  Prince  Albert  Victor, 
316,  323- 

Alfred,  Prince,  Duke  of  Edin- 
burgh, as  "Autumn,"  248; 
in  Dublin,  279 ;  marriage  of, 
281-289;  death  of,  338. 

Alice,  Princess,  birth  of,  141. 

Antwerp,   170. 

Argyll,  8th  Duke  of ,  188 ;  de- 
scribes Queen's  visits,  189 ; 
Duchess  of,   188,   189. 

Army,  224  ;  review  of,  324,  325. 

Arthur,  Prince,  marriage  of, 
303 ;  with  brothers,  316,  326. 

Arundel  Castle,   176-178. 

Balmoral,  138,  139,  195-198, 
232. 

Battles — AHwal,  154,  156,  221, 
222  ;  Alma,  Balaklava,  graves, 
222-224 ;  Balbek,  221  ;  Chil- 
lianwallah,  158;  Ferozeshah, 
156;  Goojerat,  158:  Inkerman, 
224,  225  ;  Kalafat,  Sinope,  217  ; 
Malakhoff,  228  ;  Mamelon,  Re- 


373 


INDEX 


dan,  228 ;  Meanee,  154  ;  Mood- 
kee,  154. 

Beatrice,  Princess,  birth  of,  229 ; 
marriage  of,  313. 

Belgium,  8. 

Benson,  Archbishop,  332,  333. 

Brighton  PaviUon,  72. 

Bruce,  General,  260,  264,  267 ; 
Mrs.,  262,   263. 

Buccleuch,  Duke  of,  140,  182, 
193;  Duchess  of,  131,  185. 

Buckingham,   Duke  of,    165-167. 

Buckingham  Palace,  68 ;  cos- 
tume ball  at,  211 ;  garden  par- 
ties at,  325,  338 ;  history  of, 
340,  341 ;  description  of,  341, 
342. 

Bunsen,  George  de,  52,  170 ; 
Baroness.  127,  131-133,  192-194. 

Cambridge,  Duke  of,  10,  68, 
114,  164,  211,  324. 

Cambridge,    royal    visit   to,    148, 

192-194. 
Campbell,  Colonel,  244. 
Canada,   rebellion  in,   310-312. 
Canning,  Mr.,  4,  6;  Lady,  196; 

Lord,  241,  247. 
Cashmere,  296. 
Cawnpore,    241. 
Charlotte,  Princess,  8,  II,  43. 
Claremont    House,     28,    43,    57, 

164,   176,  304. 
Clarence,  Duke  of,   10. 
Clark,  Sir  J.,  254,  256-258. 
Cleveland,     recollections    of    the 

Duchess  of,  59,  60. 
Clyde,  Lord,   158,  274. 
Cobden,  R.,  307. 
Coburg,    Ernest,    Duke    of,    50, 

lOi,   108,   171,  247. 
Comte  de  Paris,   257. 
Connaught,  Duchess  of,  303. 
Conyngham,  Lord,  61,  62,  65,  77. 
Cowes,    West,    313 ;    regatta    at, 

332. 
Cowper,    Lady    Fanny,    77,    82, 

III,   112. 
Crown,   81,   365. 
Crystal  Palace,  203. 

Dalkeith  Palace,  140,  141, 
190. 


Dalmeny  Park,  140. 

Davys,     Rev.     George,     27,     35, 

47;  diary  of,  53-58. 
D'Herbillon,  General,  239. 
Delhi,  241,  243,  244. 
Derby,  Earl  of,  93. 
Devonshire,  Duke  of,  120,  168. 
Dhuleep  Singh,  Maharajah,  159, 

249. 
Diamond  Jubilee,  333,  334. 
Disraeli,  Benjamin,  Earl  of  Bea- 

consfield,  89,  90,  172,  290,  297, 

301. 
Dock,  opening  Southampton,  326. 
Douro,  Lady,  96. 
Dublin,  201,  337. 
DuflFerin  and  Ava,  Lord,  309. 
Dunkeld,   141,   182. 

Edinburgh,  Holyrood  Palace, 
151. 

Elgin,  Lord,  241. 

Elgin  marbles,  5. 

EUesmere,  Lord,  178  ;  on  Crimean 
War,    229. 

Eugenie,  Empress,  212  ;  at  Wind- 
sor, 233,  234 ;  receives  the 
Queen,    236. 

Exhibitions  —  opening  of  Great, 
204-209 ;  International  Fish- 
eries, 306  ;  Indian  and  Colonial, 
315-318;  Liverpool  and  Edin- 
burgh, 317. 

Feodore,  Princess,  21 ;  mar- 
riage of,  33,  54,  55. 

Fisheries,  American,  306 ;  Cana- 
dian,   306. 

Fitzwilliam,  Lady  Anne,  77,  82. 

France,  8,  231,  276,  277,  290. 

Frederick  William,  Prince  of 
Prussia,  238,  249 ;  in  Jubilee 
procession,  322. 

Frogmore,  ball  at,  252 ;  mauso- 
leum at,  263,  350,  364,  369. 

Funeral,  the  Queen's,  passing 
through  London,  367  ;  at  Wind- 
sor, 366,  368  ;  at  Frogmore,  370. 

Galilee,  Lake  of,  269,  270. 
Gems  —  Koh-i-noor,      159,      160; 

"  Nassick,"  160. 
George  the  Fourth,  2-6,  38. 


374 


INDEX 


George  the  Third,  342. 
Gladstone,  W.  E.,  290;  death  of 

334,  335- 
Gleichen,  Count,  34. 
Gloucester,  Duchess  of,  133. 
Gough,  Sir  Hugh,  155,  157,  159. 
Grey,  Lord,  65,  173. 
Grey,     Sir     G.,     241 ;     General, 

259- 
Grimston,    Lady   Mary,    77,    82, 

III. 
Guernsey,  179. 
Guildhall,  State  visit  to,  213. 

Hampton  Court,  8,  164. 

Hardinge,  Sir  Henry,  154,  156. 

Havelock,  General,  243,  246. 

Hay,  Lady  Ida,  iii,  112. 

Helena,  Princess,  birth  of,  173, 
249,  259  ;  marriage  of,  273. 

Henry,  Prince,  of  Battenberg, 
313;  death  of,  331. 

Henry,  Prince,  of  Prussia,  332, 
362. 

Hesse,  Grand  Duke  of,  330,  332. 

Hospitals — Scutari,  229  ;  Netley 
founded,  238  ;  visited,  272  ;  Lon- 
don, 301,  321 ;  Diamond  Jubilee 
Fund,  333  ;  visited  by  the  Queen, 
336. 

Howard,  Lady  E.,  Ill,  II2; 
Lady  M.,  Ill,  112. 

Howley,  Archbishop,  47,  61, 
65,    78,    79- 

Humbert,  King  of  Italy,  338  . 

Hymn,  "  Peace!  Perfect  Peace  I" 
261. 

Imperial  Institute,  323,  329. 

India,  154-160 ;  consolidation  of, 
251 ;  visited  by  Prince  of 
Wales,  292-297  ;  investiture  of 
Star  of,  294 ;  proclamation  of 
Empress  of,  297. 

Japan,  withdrawal  of  occupy- 
ing force  from,  291. 

Jenner,  Sir  W.,  253-258 

Jubilee,  procession,  321-324  ;  cele- 
brations, 321-325. 

Kensington   Palace,    14-17 ; 

visited  by  Queen,  331. 


Kent,  Duchess  of,  13,  19,  57, 
102,  III  ;  letter  of,  206,  207, 
248 ;  death  of,  252,  253. 

Kent,  Duke  of,  11-14,  19,  20. 

Lahore,  158, 159,  242. 

Lansdowne,  Lord,  124. 

Law  Courts,  opening  of,  304 ; 
Birmingham,   318. 

Lawrence,  Sir  J.,  159,  160,  241, 
242;  Sir  Henry,  241-245. 

Legislation  —  taxation,  3  ;  Re- 
gency bill,  40 ;  India,  251  ; 
conspiracy,  251 ;  housing  of 
Avorking-classes,  308. 

Lehzen,  Baroness,  21,  24,  27, 
28,  54,  57,  70. 

Leiningen,  Prince  Charles  of, 
33,  45  ;  Prince  Ernest  of,  34. 

Lennox,  Lady  Caroline,  77,  82, 
III,    112. 

Leopold,  King  of  the  Belgians, 
8,  69 ;  letters  of,  loi ;  visited, 
148,  170,  249. 

Leopold,  Prince,  Duke  of  Al- 
bany, marriage  and  death  of, 

303. 

Light  Brigade,  charge  of,  224. 

Literature,  magazine,  97 ;  Lord 
Macaulay,  124,  297 ;  "  Bitter 
Cry  of  Outcast  London,"  291, 
308,  312;  Sir  W.  Besant,  321. 

Louis,  Napoleon  III.,  212;  at 
Windsor,  233,  234 ;  entertains 
the  Queen,  2;i6-2;iS ;  attempted 
assassination  of,  251 ;  retires 
to  England,  277. 

Louis,  Prince  of  Hesse,  170,  263. 

Louis  Philippe,  144,  145 ;  visits 
Windsor,  162-165 ;  his  flight 
from  Paris,  174-176. 

Louise,  Princess  (Duchess  of  Ar- 
gyll), 185;  marriage  of,  277; 
her  statue  of  the  Queen,  332. 

Louise,  Queen  of  the  Belgians, 
121,   145. 

Lucknow,  241,  245 ;  Residency, 
295- 

Lj'ttclton,  Lady,  161,  173. 

Marie,  Duchess  of  Edinburgh, 

281-289. 
Marlborough  House,  25. 


375 


INDEX 


Mausoleum  at  Frogmore,  350. 

Mayor   Lord.  280,  364. 

Medals — coronation,  81,  83;  sil- 
ver-wedding, 306;  Albert,  321. 

Melbourne,  Lord,  62,  64,  66, 
68,  71,  72,  85-87,  109,  117, 
121,  151. 

Moscow,  286.  287- 

Murray,  Sir  Charles,  69-72. 

Music,  117;  Italian  opera,  131  ; 
Mendelssohn  visits  Bucking- 
ham Palace,  134,  135  ;  Sir  A. 
Sullivan  and  opera,  307,  316 ; 
Gounod's  '  Death    and  Life," 

315- 
Myrtle,  the  Queen  s,  281. 

Napier,  Lord  R.  C,  296;  Sir 

Charles,  120,  153. 

Napoleon  the  Great,  3. 

Navy,  7 ;  in  Crimea,  221 ;  aug- 
mented, 230 ;  fleet  sent  to  Con- 
stantinople, 299  ;  review  of,  324  ; 
at  Diamond  Jubilee,  333  ;  Chan- 
nel fleet,  337  ;  bluejackets,  368. 

Nicholas  I.,  Czar,  visits  Windsor, 
150-153;  friction  with,  216; 
death  of,  2^2 ;  manifesto  of,  317. 

Nightingale,  Miss  Florence,  229. 

Norfolk,  Duke  of,  68,  80,  177; 
Augusta,  Duchess  of,  140,  178, 
184. 

Normanby,  Lord,  109. 

Northumberland,  Duchess  of,  40. 

O'CONNELL,  Daniel,  94. 

Osborne,  first  visit  to,  45 ;  pur- 
chased, 173  ;  old  Osborne  Lodge, 
Whippingham  Church,  313 ; 
marriage  of  Princess  Beatrice 
at,  313,  314  ;  description  of,  351, 
352. 

Paget,    Lady  Adelaide,  77,  82, 

III,    112;    Lady  Eleanor,  ill, 

112;  Lord  Alfred,  196. 
•Painting,    97,    124,    125;   British 

artists,    136,    178 ;    Mr.    Frank 

Bucldand,  307. 
Palmerston,  Lad3^  178  ;  Lord,  65, 

124,  133,  173,  178,  208,  216,  217, 

248,  251. 
Parliament,  first  House  of  Lords, 


73 ;  decoration  of,  123 :  com- 
mission of,  123-125  ;  opening  of, 
127,  128 ;  dissension  in,  216 ; 
coalition,  216  ;  attitude  of,  tow- 
ards Russia,  218 ;  opened  by 
the  Queen,  301. 

Pashas — Osman,  299 ;  Zuleiman, 
300. 

Passover,  Samaritan,  267,  268. 

Peel,  Sir  Robert,  65,  93  ;  on  office 
patronage,  98-100,  120,  125; 
seat  of,  168 ;  death  of,  172. 

Perth,  reception  of  the  Queen  at 
Dupplin  Castle,  140. 

Pets,  dogs,  350. 

Philanthropy,  321,  328. 

Plots — Cato  Street  conspiracy,  3  ; 
Jacobite,  15. 

Poetry,  of  the  Georgian  era,  9  ; 
Southey  on  Princess  Victoria, 
46 ;  Mrs.  Browning  on  the  ac- 
cession, 66 ;  on  the  young 
Queen,  73 ;  ode  of  Tennyson, 
215,  316 ;  Omar  Khayyam's, 
280. 

Prussia,  King  of,  132,  133,  170. 

Punjaub  annexed,  154,  159,  316. 

Raglan,  Lord,  223;  Field-Mar- 
shal, 225,   229,   230;  death  of, 

235. 

Railways,  Glasgow  and  Coat- 
bridge, funeral  train,  364-367. 

Regalia,  Scottish,  140,  192. 

Religion,  in  the  forties,  137-139 ; 
the  "  Disruption,"  141  ;  Sab- 
batarianism, 143. 

Reviews,  of  Life  Guards  and 
Grenadiers,  71,  106,  107;  at 
Windsor,  153,  280;  Volunteer, 
273,  322  ;  of  Came!  Corps,  313  ; 
at  Aldershot,  324  ;  naval,  324  ; 
of  troops  from  Africa,  338. 

Roberts,  Lord,  298,  333,  335,  362. 

Rolle,  Lord,  80,  81,  84. 

Rosebery,  Earl  of,  140 ;  Premier, 
330. 

Rosenau  Castle,  171,  172. 

Roumania,  299,  301  ;  \'isit  of 
Queen  to,  326 ;  marriage  of 
Prince  at,  327. 

Roj'^al,  Princess,  birth  of,  118; 
christening  of,   II9,   l6l,    170; 


376 


INDEX 


visits  Paris,  236,  237  ;  betrothal 
of,  238 ;  marriage  of,  247-250, 
285 ;    silver    wedding    of,    306, 

323- 

Russell,  Lord  John,  88,  109,  124, 
^33  ',  Prime  Minister,  173,  178, 
196  ;  resignation  of,  216. 

Russia,  Crimean  War.  216-230 ; 
atrocities  in,  225,  230  ;  wedding 
in,  282  ;  Church  of,  288 ;  its  war 
with  Turkey,  299-301. 

St.  James's,  Palace,  ball  at,  44 ; 

Chapel  Royal,  ill. 
Salisbury,  Marquis  of,  301,  330. 
Scone  Palace,  140. 
Shah  visits  England,  279,  280. 
Sidmouth,  visit  to  Walbrook  Cot- 
tage at,  19,  20. 
Sieges  —  Mooltan,   158;  Sebasto- 

pol,  222 ;  intrenchments  at  Se- 

bastopol,  227 ;  fall  of  Sebasto- 

pol,     228,    229 ;    Redan,     228 ; 

Kars,     230 ;     Lucknow,      243  ; 

Delhi,  244 ;  Plevna,  299. 
Sophia,  Princess,  133  ;  of  Prussia, 

328. 
Soult,  Marshal,  75,  88. 
Stafford  House,  95,  133,  226. 
Stanhope,  Lady  Wilhelmina,  77  ; 

her  account  of  the  coronation, 

82-84,  112;  Lord,  124. 
Stanley,  Lady  Augusta,  260,  262, 

282,  284;    Dean,  262-271,  281- 

290. 
Steam-hammer,  Nasmyth,  210. 
Stockmar,  Baron,  50,  65,  71,  106, 

216,   219. 
Suez  Canal,  297. 
Surrey,  Earl  of,  81,  83,  84. 
Sussex,      Augustus      Frederick, 

Duke   of,  25,  61,  63,  68,    112, 

114,  133;  death  of,  149,  150. 
Sutherland,  Harriet,  Duchess  of, 

77,   94-96,    III,    178,    185,    188, 

189,  193,  194,  260. 

Taymouth   Castle,  183,  185, 

196. 
Teck,  Duchess  of,  207,  329. 
Toys,  26,  35,  36. 
Transvaal,  annexed,  298 ;  war  in, 

335-339. 


Treaties — after  Crimean  War, 
229  ;  at  Washington,  277  ;  San 
Stefano,  300 ;  Congress  at 
Berlin,  300. 

Troops,  leave  for  the  East,  220, 
221  ;  suffering  of,  227 ;  return 
of  Guards,  230;  presented  with 
medals,  234  ;  Canadian  Volun- 
teers, 311,  312;  Canadian  Mili- 
tia, 312  ;  from  the  Soudan,  313  ; 
at  Imperial  Institute,  329 ;  at 
Diamond  Jubilee,  332,  333 ; 
from  South  Africa,  339. 

Tuileries,  236,  237. 

Tunbridge  Wells,  47. 

Turkey,  217,  299-301. 

Vessels  —  H.M.S.  Trafalgar, 
120;  yacht -Roya/  George,  140; 
Trident,  141  ;  screw  propeller, 
210;  Alabama,  278;  Australia, 
313,  366 ;  Sheilah,  314  ;  Alberta 
and  torpedo-boat  destroyers, 
366 ;  Osborne,  Victoria  and 
Albert,  Hohenzollern,  Victory, 
366. 

Victoria,  Queen,  birth  of,  17 ; 
christening  and  vaccination  of, 
18 ;  at  Sidmouth,  19,  20 ;  at 
Kensington,  21,  22;  at  Tun- 
bridge Wells,  22 ;  anecdotes  of, 
22  ;  descriptions  of,  26,  27,  28-31, 
41  ;  instruction  of,  27  ;  at  Clare- 
mont,  28,  29  ;  at  Windsor,  29  ;  at 
Kensington,  32,  33  ;  her  knowl- 
edge of  rank,  35  ;  instructors  of, 
36,  37,  40  ;  at  first  ball,  38  ;  at 
Broadstairs,  at  Malvern,  40  ;  at 
her  first  play,  40,  41  ;  her  first 
drawing-room,  41  ;  visits  the  Isle 
of  Wight,  41 ,  45  ;  her  Welsh  tour, 
43 ;  her  first  public  function, 
44  ;  her  first  visit  to  Osborne, 
45 ;  visits  Ascot,  and  is  con- 
firmed at  the  Chapel  Royal,  St. 
James's,  47  ;  her  summer  tour, 
1835,  48,  49  ;  her  attitude  to  pol- 
itics, 50 ;  attains  her  majority, 
51,  52;  reminiscences  of  her 
tutor,  53,  59  ;  her  accession,  61, 
65  ;  her  first  council,  63-70  ;  pro- 
claimed, 66 ;  presides  over  an- 
other coiuicil,   67 ;  at  Windsor. 


377 


INDEX 


69-71 ;  opens  Parliament,  73, 
128;  her  coronation,  74-84;  re- 
ceives the  holy  sacrament,  81  ; 
her  home  life,  85,  86 ;  her  busi- 
ness habits,  86 ;  her  ad\'isers, 
87-94  ;  her  female  friends,  94-96, 
98-100  ;  betrothed,  100-103  ;  dec- 
laration of  her  marriage,  109, 
110;  marriage  of ,  Ii2-ii5;her 
life  attempted,  128-130  ;  as  a  vo- 
calist, 134,  135  ;  at  Plantagenet 
ball,  137  ;  visits  Scotland,  140, 
141 ;  visits  the  Chateau  d'Eu, 
144,  145 ;  visits  Buckingham, 
165-167 ;  visits  Strathfieldsaj^e, 
167-169 ;  \'isits  Germanj^,  170, 
171 ;  visits  Arundel,  177,  178 ; 
visits  Cornwall  and  the  Chan- 
nel Islands,  179 ;  %'isits  Scot- 
land, 182-191  ;  visits  Cambridge, 
192-194  ;  visits  Harrow,  194  ;  at 
Balmoral,  195-197 ;  \'isits  Ire- 
land, 199-202;  at  Great  Ex-— 
hibition,  206-209;  at  Stuart 
ball,  211 ;  visits  Guildhall,  213  ; 
at  Liverpool  and  Manchester, 
213,  214 ;  at  Stafford  House, 
226 ;  visits  Chatham,  232  ;  en- 
tertains Louis  Napoleon,  233, 
234 ;  visits  Crj^stal  Palace, 
234 ;  distributes  medals  to 
Crimean  troops,  235 ;  visits 
Paris,  236,  237 ;  visits  Cher- 
bourg, 239 ;  attends  Prince 
Consort,  254-259;  at  Prince 
Consort's  anniversary  service, 
262,  263  ;  consecration  of  Prince 
Consort's  mausoleum,  263,  264  ; 
her  partial  retirement,  272 ; 
unveils  Prince  Consort's  statue, 
272 ;  visits  Coburg  and  Bel- 
gium, lays  stone  of  Albert 
Hall,  re\'iews  Volunteers,  visits 
Lucerne,  273 ;  explanation  of 
her  retirement,  273,  274  ;  gives 
thanks  for  Prince  of  Wales's 
recovery,  278 ;  visits  Victoria 
Park,  281 ;  welcomes  Duchess 
of  Edinburgh,  289  ;  opens  Par- 
liament, 301,  302;  visits  Lon- 
don Hospital,  302  ;  her  Scottish 
ancestr3^  304  ;  opens  the  Law 
Courts,  304,  305  ;  holds  a  Draw- 


ing-room, opens  International 
Fisheries  Exhibition,  306 ;  ap- 
pears more  in  public,  315  ;  opens 
Indian  and  Colonial  Exhibi- 
tion, 316,  317 ;  opens  Birming- 
ham Law  Courts,  318;  \'isits 
Cannes  and  Aix-les-Bains,  319  ; 
receives  congratulations,  visits 
Whitechapel,  320 ;  receives  Al- 
bert Medal,  321  ;  attends  Jubilee 
ser^-ice,  holds  re\'iews,  and 
lays  stone  of  Imperial  In- 
stitute, 322,  323  ;  opens  South- 
ampton dock,  326 ;  opens 
Imperial  Institute,  329 ;  visits 
Coburg,  330,  332 ;  unveils  a 
statue  of  herself  at  Kensington 
Palace,  331 ;  visits  Florence, 
Darmstadt,  and  Nice,  332  ;  cele- 
brates Diamond  Jubilee,  333, 
334 ;  her  interest  in  the  South 
African  War,  336-339 ;  visits 
Ireland,  337 ;  gives  garden- 
partj^,  338 ;  visits  Balmoral, 
fails  in  health,  338,  361 ;  her 
method  of  work,  349,  350 ;  her 
foreign  and  home  life,  351,  357  ; 
lamented,  359,  360;  her  last 
illness,  361,  362  ;  her  death,  363  ; 
h4ng  in  state,  365  ;  her  journey 
to  Frogmore,  366-370  ;  extracts 
from  letters,  121,  122,  125,  127, 
146-148,  150-153,  162-165 ;  on 
the  Great  Exhibition,  206-209; 
on  the  Czar,  217,  218-220;  on 
the  war  in  the  Crimea,  223, 
224,  230-232;  letters  of  con- 
dolence, 224,  225,  231  ;  on 
Louis  Napoleon,  234 ;  on  the 
Prince  Consort,  239 ;  on  the 
marriage  of  the  Princess  Royal, 
247-250  ;  on  the  Prince  Consort's 
illness,  254-260  ;  on  Thanksgiv- 
ing Day,  278 ;  on  the  Duke  of 
Edinburgh's  marriage,  281, 
282 ;  on  the  death  of  Princess 
Alice,  303  ;  her  thanks  to  the 
nation.  Jubilee,  1887,  323 ;  her 
message  to  her  people  on  the 
Diamond  Jubilee,  334. 
Villiers,  Lady  Sarah,  III,  112. 


Wars  — Burmese,  5,  309;  Graeco- 


378 


INDEX 


Turkish,  5,  330 ;  Sikh,  154,  158, 
159,  242 ;  Crimean,  216-230 ;  Ind- 
ian Mutiny,  240-247;  Prusso- 
Danish,  272 ;  Franco  -  German, 
276 ;  arbitration,  278  ;  Afghan, 
298;  Russo- Turkish,  299-301; 
Servo-Bulgarian,  314 ;  Ashantee, 
331 ;  South  African,  335,  336,  337. 

Wellington,  Duke  of,  62,  65,  68,  81, 
84,  87,  109, 115,  153,  167-169,  209  ; 
at  Stuart  ball,  212;  death  of, 
215. 

West,  Lady  Elizabeth,  in,  112. 

Westall,  Rlr.  G.,  36. 

Westminster  Hall,  305. 

William  I.,  King  of  Prussia,  161. 


William  II.,  German  Emperor,  332, 
362, 363- 

William  IV.,  7  -  10 ;  coronation 
procession  of,  52  ;  death  of,  60  ; 
funeral  of,  68,  342. 

Williams,  General  Sir  W.  F.,  230. 

Windsor  Castle,  233 ;  home  life  at, 
85;  St.  George's  Chapel,  368; 
Guard  Chamber,  233 ;  descrip- 
tion   of,    334-350 ;    view    from, 

346,  347- 
Wolseley,  Lord,  324,  331,  333. 

York,  Frederick,  Duke  of,  6 ;  Prince 
George,  Duke  of,  329,  332 ;  Duch- 
ess of,  329. 


THE   END 


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